


By your side

by EaSnowPw



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A bit of angst i guess, Amnesia, Each Chapter is Different, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Smut, OC apprentice, Smut, Wong being Wong, but first two both have smut, papa!Stephen, third less so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-07-01 21:50:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15782799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EaSnowPw/pseuds/EaSnowPw
Summary: She hates him. No, really. Fine, Wong, she doesn't hate the stupid Sorcerer Supreme all the time. Only when he gives her a reason to.





	1. Chapter 1

Wong is giving her an unimpressed gaze as she somehow lounges sideways on a chair in the library.

"Wong, I'm bored," she complains with no small amount of childish petulance.

"Go study."

"I already did that today."

"Meditate."

"Check."

"Practice spells."

"We're doing that later."

The man stays silent, outright ignoring her.

"Wong~!"

"You're not bored and I'm not helping you with the real problem." Which is being horny and no good men around. "Go find Strange. I bet he'd appreciate the offer."

Laurie looks disgusted.

"Hell no. I'd rather do Dormammu and believe me, the feeling is mutual." She pulls herself up. "I was looking for suggestions, but I see your only one is that asshole. Thanks for nothing."

"You're welcome and believe me, the feelings between you and him are mutual, just not what you project."

"Fuck you and him. Got the tip, I'm leaving."

Laurie Backus is a pharmacist. Or rather was. She didn't really join the sorcerers out of desperation like many others before her. She had enough money and her life was good, if she said so herself. She joined because her innate magic was starting to cause troubles. And when an idiot pisses you off (which is not rare in her line of work), methaphysically shoving him against the wall is not exactly ideal. So she joined The Order of the Strangers, as she called it. She had a natural gift for magic and didn't need much guidance, which was just as well, since their supposed teacher was doing an awful job. Strange sucked at teaching. Big time. Laurie soon found that younger apprentices preferred to ask her questions rather than him.

And oh, did she mention that her university years left her with a deep hatred for self-centered doctors? What were the odds of finding an arrogant doctor in a temple in Nepal? Apparently very damn high. Bonus points for him being in a position of leadership.

She avoided him like the plague (minus classes) until she had a question. And when he rolled his eyes at her and proceeded to explain that she shouldn't need help grasping such a simple concept, she snapped.

"Perhaps I don't need your *help*, seeing as you suck at teaching. I swear I'm the unofficial Sorcerer Supreme or something, because everyone who's newer than me would rather come to me than you."

"I don't suck at teaching! And you're guiding them the wrong path anyway if something like this beats you," he snapped right back.

In the end, she did get an answer to her question (which had been right in her face for a while, but screw Strange anyway), yet she vowed never to ask him anything ever again. So she went to Wong for help who, bless his heart, was just the right blend of sarcasm and usefulness.

* * *

They hadn't quite started off the wrong foot. The first time she came, she had noticed the hot sorcerer in blue robes and red cape and thought him handsome. Well, more lewd language in her head, but that was the label. Until he snapped at her for an accident she had with her powers in her first week. She was new. She didn't know how to control all this magic they had given her access to. And he scolded her like she had been there for a year and still couldn't grasp basic control. That was when she started hating him.

"Well, sorry for not being born knowledgeable!" she yelled.

"You shouldn't practice such high level spells then," he said. And that was final. Her telekinesis shot at him without her meaning to, but he easily brushed it off, glaring at her. She returned it.

Wong later let her drink tea and rant about how her power was not something she wanted or knew how to control.

"Then tell him," Wong said.

"When I'm dying, maybe."

And the wiser man gave her a look, but didn't push it.

* * *

Of course thinking about Strange makes her fuck up, because why the hell not? Her spell blows up in her face and she sees him look at her with something between disappointment and surprise. She not so subtly flips him off. He rolls his eyes.

"Keep your mind empty and don't lose your focus. This spell should come easy to you by now."

Another low hit. Laurie growls.

"Yeah. Got things on my mind. Sorry." Her tone is anything but pleasant.

Strange notices and approaches her.

"After everyone else is done, I need to talk to you."

"Fine."

She gets the hang of the fireball thing, then proceeds with more advanced spells. The theme for the day was fire, so she figures playing with a different spell works. There's a magically flaming rope in her hands, which she toys with for a bit, then turns it into a burning sword. She catches Strange's gaze and briefly hesitates, but then looks away and continues her practice. She tries to ignore his smile.

After training, everyone else leaves. Laurie stays behind, waiting.

"You're not very subtle," he begins.

"About?"

"How much you'd love not to see me?" She snorts. "Why?"

"Cause you're a self-centered narcissist and act as though magic came to you easily."

"Well, it kinda did, so..."

"It did to me, too, and you don't see me look down at those who struggle." He eyes her with disbelief. "I came here because I was a telekinetic. I was already one," she presses. Strange nods, looking like he already knows that. He has probably talked to Wong.

"I'm sorry I screamed at you on your first week. You did really well that day so I thought you were more experienced."

Laurie hesitates, taken aback by his apology.

"Oh."

"And if you could give me a few tips at teaching..."

Now she has no idea what to say. Stephen waits for her answer for a few moments, then he grins.

"You're speechless."

"Yeah, I thought you were the typical arrogant doctor. My brain is fried," she jokes.

"So it's a no?"

"No... I meant not a no." Laurie groans. Hating him was easier. This weird warmth makes her uncomfortable. It's hard to hate him when he's being nice. "Though I'm not sure how I do it myself."

He hums.

"You already know what I do, so..."

"Patience," she finally decides. "You lack patience. You act as though you have many better things to do..." She stops and looks at him carefully. Strange lets her scrutinise him. He notices the way her eyes quickly dismiss his hands, but notice the bandage over his chest. She remembers how he guarded his right arm earlier that day. "You do have more on your plate, don't you? You guys don't just teach us because of tradition or some shit like that." He nods slowly, as if he doesn't know whether to let her in on the secret or not. "Will you tell me?"

"I could, but... the first time they told me, I really freaked out. Can you keep calm?"

"Yeah. Shoot."

As Strange speaks, Laurie grows tense. She never bothered think things through, but it made sense. They are guardians between realms. They protect the earth from magical beings. So yeah, at the end of the day, after 5 goblins tested his patience, he's tired and a bit short on his temper.

"I see..."

"Will you stay, knowing all this?" he asks.

"For now," she admits. It will always be a choice for her. "It's a lot to process." About him, too. She sudddenly sees Strange in a new light and it's almost impossible to hate him now. "I'm not leaving, but I don't know if my place is here."

"It is," he assures her.

"Did you look into my future?"

"I do that for every student," he replies with a shrug. "Some are more interesting than others."

She returns his smile.

"And how interesting am I?"

"Very," he assures her, now getting into her personal space. She doesn't back away, but chooses to look straight into his eyes. "You're one of my most interesting students, Mrs Backus."

"Hmm, then I suppose you didn't need to ask me if I was going to stay."

"Future is full of posibilities, though I admit than in most of them you do grace me with your presence."

"You flatter me," she teases.

"It appears to be effective." Now they're almost touching. She has to look up to meet his gaze. "Wong seems to believe that we have some things in common."

"He's rarely wrong," she almost whispers. His cloak detaches and leaves. Now they're alone. "What were you thinking that made your relic believe we need privacy?"

She knows, he can tell. Her pupils are blown wide and she's leaning onto him.

"Something you were thinking yourself earlier today."

He leans in and is not disappointed as she meets him halfway through. The kiss is short. They're testing each other.

"Wong should mind his own business sometimes," Laurie whispers.

He kisses her again, this time more passionately, squeezing her in his arms.

"Can you please concentrate? Talking about other men is a moodkiller."

Laurie laughs and burries her face into his shoulder. She feels him kiss her neck.

"Alright. Let me warn you, though. You keep making me feel so good and I'm never leaving this place."

"That's the plan," he whispers in her ear, voice rough. She sighs in pleasure. A foolproof plan, apparently.

* * *

She's always thought that his room would be huge. While yes, it is a bit bigger than hers, that can be chalked up to architectural variety. His bed isn't super soft, it's just like hers.

"Are you seriously judging my room right now?" he asks from between her legs.

Laurie laughs.

"Yeah... problem?" He gives her a long lick, sucking hard on her clit for good measure. She moans in pleasure. "I'll take that as a yes. Though I do have a problem with you reading my mind, so we're even." He hums in disagreement and she whimpers when one of his fingers enter her. He's using magic to stabilize his hands. "Cheater..."

"Do you always talk so much?"

"Only when I'm relaxed." Her voice is getting breathless and she moans when he adds another finger and starts spreading her. He hums again.

"Then I should feel flattered."

"Please feel whatever you want later." Laurie moves to grab his wrist and pull him to her, kissing him heavily. Her free hand magically opens his pants and slides them down his hips. She feels him grin against her lips. His hands move and a condom appears in his hand. She slides his pants off completely while he rolls it on.

"I knew you were playing it cool." His voice is even deeper than normal.

"Of course you did." She hardly finds it in herself to be more than annoyed at him still reading her mind.

There's a brief moment of silence when he enters her, both adjusting to the new connection. She can feel his magic, his energy and it briefly overwhelms her, but she forces herself to accept it, accept all of him.

"Stephen..." she whimpers.

He lifts his head from where he tucked it against her shoulder. It's the first time she uses his first name and the pure vulnerability in her voice is both flattering and concerning. Their eyes meet, but he can't get a good read on her. He starts moving, slow at first, then he listens to her undulating hips and picks up the pace. Her eyes slide closed and her arms wrap around him, nails digging into his back. She's moving with him, wordlessly begging for him to go faster and faster and damn it, give me all you've got, I can take it! Hearing that thought, he pulls out, but before Laurie can kill him, she finds herself on her stomach, hips high up in the air and getting the soul fucked out of her. It feels like that at least. Her walls tighten around him and she grows louder, covering her mouth so her screams can't be heard. She cries out when he pulls her up, one hand moving in front of her to her clit and the other to her nipples.

"I wanna hear you," he growls in her ear. Damn, his voice is inhumanly deep. She shakes her head, her thoughts surrounding him about how she can't, she shouldn't, she's a student damn it and he's the Sorcerer Supreme! What if the others find out? "Nobody cares." And then he bites her, right where her neck and shoulder meet, finding her sweet spot at the same time.

Her body freezes mid-arch and something between a cry and a moan escapes her lips before she goes slack in his arms. Inside, she's a pulsing, heated chamber and it barely takes him several thrusts to climax inside her.

They're both sweaty and starting to feel cold. Stephen ties off the condom and magics it out of existence. When he turns towards Laurie, she's pulling herself up, thoughts a jumbled, negative mess, but what he does get is that she wants to get dressed and leave.

"You think this was a mistake?" he asks.

"Get out of my head!" she snaps at him.

"If I was in your head, I would know the answer," he snipes back, but stomps on the urge to lash out further. Giving in to his temper only pushed people away. He wants her close.

"If you weren't, that wouldn't be the first assumption you'd make," she retorts, beginning to gather her clothes. "This was just lust. We've obviously been attracted to each other for a while and now, when we finally interacted like two normal human beings, it blew up in our faces," Laurie rationalizes. "But it can't work." She pulls up her pants. "I'm just a student and you're the equivalent of the principal." Her blouse is shrugged on.

"Nobody cares," he repeats. "Wong doesn't and he cares about what tea I drink." Laurie closes her eyes as her hands reflexively fasten the belts around her middle. "Do you even want us to work? Or do you want to act as if nothing happened? I mean, you openly hate me. Not much has to change."

"I want to try, at least, but not...Not with how much I can lose." Her hands drop.

Stephen rolls his eyes.

"I have a pretty successful history of working with my exes."

"So I've heard. But we both know who would have to leave if it came to that."

"Nah, I can just dump you on a sanctum."

Laurie chuckles and stops to think about it. It's a simple choice. Say no to this whole mushy feeling in her chest, turn around and leave, then continue avoiding him like the plague, probably sleep with him a few more times, then leave Kamar Taj when her training is complete. Or... stay. Here. In his room. At Kamar Taj. And find out what the big deal is about other dimensions and Stephen.

She sits down on the bed with a hesitant nod. He's still naked, casually propped up on a surprisingly muscular arm and waiting for her decision. Is this the right decision, she muses, meeting his eyes.

"What does that green necklace tell you I'll choose?"

"I don't know. It just tells me I'll be a lot happier if you strip again and get under the blanket with me."

Laurie chuckles and obeys, casually taking off her clothes. He shifts to get under the blanket and welcomes her in his arms.

"Still, what are we telling everyone?"

"Nothing. Show, don't tell. Who will challenge the Sorcerer Supreme and his girlfriend?"

Her laughter is soft. She doesn't reject the label, to his relief.

"Fair enough."

* * *

"You're like the 5th one who asks me this today, can't you people learn from each other?"

The apprentice stares at Stephen with fear, half turned to leave and give up. Laurie rolls her eyes and goes to wrap her arms around her lover's waist, leaning onto him. She hasn't seen him all day and he's sweaty so he hasn't spent the day doing something boring, but being tired is no excuse for his temper.

"Patience, doctor," she reminds him. He sighs.

"I'm sorry. Show me again."

The man in front of them seems more interested in their interaction than the question he has, but wisely chooses to focus on the latter. After he gets his answer, he leaves, but hesitates and glances over his shoulder. Yes, Laurie Backus and Stephen Strange are dating. The kiss they're sharing says so. The apprentice runs when the Cloak of Levitation detaches itself from its master and gives chase to the intruder.

* * *

Later that night, Stephen is moaning, holding onto his pillow as Laurie works her hands on his back.

"You're using magic," he notices.

"Yep, it's something I've been studying for a while. First step towards healing magic." She laughs when he moans again, louder. People would think they're having sex. Well, they are, just not right now. "I figured there's no conceivable way for me to catch up with the Sorcerer Supreme, so I might as well learn how to patch you up."

"I'm not taking you with me until I know you're ready."

"I know. I'm not asking you to. But I wanna feel useful, so let me kiss your wounds better."

"Alright," he breathes out. There are a few healers at Kamar Taj, but he only goes for serious wounds, not the massage she is performing. Laurie finishes and gets off him so he rolls over, feeling more relaxed than he has in years. "I can get used to this."

"Well, you'd better." There's mischief in her eyes.

"Gotta study tonight." She pouts, but reluctantly accepts that. "Get me the book on the table."

Laurie cuddles at his side and levitates the book over. He starts reading, noticing how her eyes move over the pages as well. Okay. He's not studying spells tonight, just different realms. If she becomes a master and stays with him, she'll eventually need the knowledge. Soon enough, she gets bored and levitates another book for herself. She shifts away from him and starts reading, occasionally trying some new hand gestures.

All is silent. He feels content, more so than he can ever remember. They've barely been going out for a month and he already feels at ease with her presence, not minding that she's slowly conquering his room.

Yeah, he can get used to this.

* * *

The head of the medical team is a rigid old woman who makes Laurie want to fight her on a good day and reduces her to tears on a bad one, but Stephen doesn't need to know that. Moreover, that woman hates her because she's "distracting the Sorcerer Supreme" (which he doesn't need to know either). Like hell. He's deep in his work 90% of the time. If they weren't sharing a room, they would barely have time for each other. They hardly do, anyway.

So when Stephen asks her to play nice and whatever the hell she did to anger her boss in the most exasperated tone he can manage, she's done. Just. Done.

"Sorry for causing you trouble. It won't happen again, sir," she retorts and leaves. Well, tries to. He blocks her exit.

"You only call me that when you're angry. Whatever did I do this time?" Still exasperated.

Laurie makes her luggage pack itself, but he snaps her suitcase closed with much more force than neccessary and loudly shoves it under his bed.

"Let me go. You're too busy to maintain a relationship and I'm obviously a useless distraction." There's a fire in her eyes which promises to burn both of them.

"Seriously? That's what you think? Well, newsflash, I chose you! I wanted you to be here, to be the one thing I keep for myself after I give everything to the universe! But you never wanted to be with me anyway, so I'm done grasping at straws! Leave! You've wanted to from the first day so go! I'm obviously the only one in love here!"

His words hit her like a cold bucket of water.

"Stephen..."

Her luggage jerks out from under the bed and briefly opens to show it has her belongings in it, then closes and flies out the door.

"Oh, now you choose to care? Fuck off! You can't make a solid choice on a good day, so I'm making this one for you."

Laurie's eyes are wide and teary, but when she blinks the tears down, she's back in her old room. She sinks to her knees and lets the tears escape, because damn it, he's right and it hurts, but it hurts more to know that he's hurt. So she pulls herself up and goes back to the... his room. There's no one there. Her morning training would start soon and she's already missed breakfast, so it looks like it would be a long day.

It's even longer than she expected. The old hag somehow knows what's up and is even harder on her, almost triumphantly so. Laurie is not untalented at healing, just a beginner. She messes up a basic spell. Damn it all. She's better than others at poison and chemical imbalances due to her background, but putting torn veins back? That takes some work when you only know vaguely where they're supposed to go.

"You still don't know that spell? Perhaps you should consider changing specialties again."

She only gives her a glare, but pushes forward.

By the time she gets to Stephen's class in the afternoon, she wants to faint. Go figure, she missed lunch because she was held up for scolding. Who even scolds people for 3 hours? Her stomach growls angrily and she ignores it, but of course they're doing something tricky as hell like turning attacks into butterflies. She fails spectacularly, her partner's attack hitting her hard.

"Mrs Backus." His voice is familiar and distant and it hurts.

"Yes?" She stands up shakily.

"Go get something to eat. You're useless like this." It's humiliating to step out of line and head to the cafeteria.

"Thank you."

She manages to forage a sandwich. It's hardly enough, but it will hold until dinner.

Stomach begrudgingly settled, she gets the spell right on her 3rd try. A nod of approval is the last acknowledgement Stephen gives her before moving on. The others notice the sudden distance and give her various looks, ranging from confusion to pity, but nobody approaches her.

* * *

She shoves dinner down her throat like she's got a black hole in her stomach, then zaps to the library. Wong is not around, so she waits until he returns from dinner.

"I'm here to confess my sins," she says as the man enters, but freezes when Stephen follows. The Sorcerer Supreme stays in the doorway, surprised by her presence. Wong seems resigned as he takes his usual seat.

"I'm not a couple therapist," he announces, but motions for Stephen to sit next to Laurie. The doctor reluctantly obeys.

"We're not a couple anymore, Wong. Just give me the books already. You know I can steal them later anyway," Stephen mildly threatens, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. Laurie nods, then drops her head.

"I need therapy. Want me to wait outside?"

"Yes."

Laurie stands up to leave. To her surprise, Stephen's cloak follows her, settling on her shoulders. It rarely did that. She touches the fabric in confusion as she walks out.

"Why? Doesn't he hate me?" The fabric tightens around her in what feels like a hug. "I would." Now it's clearly shaking its collar in denial. It's weird that it does it around her head. "Why would you follow me?" The embrace briefly tightens. Comfort. The cloak moves to cover her body the way Stephen would, arms around her waist. Laurie reluctantly settles. "Thank you."

After a few minutes, Wong opens the door. Laurie walks in and looks around, but figures that Stephen left through a portal. A cup of tea is waiting for her. She sits down and thanks him. Cloak leaves.

"What do you have to confess?" Wong asks, sitting on the other side of his desk.

"I fucked up. The head of healing is mean to me and these days she got petty and complained to Stephen. He was very accusing when he approached me, so I snapped at him and said some mean things. Now he's done with me." Laurie looks down.

"Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme and..." She cuts him off, sadness gone and replaced by anger.

"He's busy. I get that. I get it. You all must think I'm an idiot! I know he's busy and tired and stressed out. I know! I've seen it! Who do you think shared his bed? Like fuck, I probably know what haunts him better than you do! I know when he leaves and comes back and lately I can tell where he went just by how tired he is when he comes back. I know I'll always fall down his list of priorities but if he didn't act as if I'm the fucking last thing on it, I wouldn't have snapped like that!" Wong stays silent and briefly glances at the weird rock on his table. Laurie wipes at her eyes and calms down, then continues. "And if that old hag didn't hate me simply for dating Stephen, perhaps this could have been avoided."

"We'll discuss with the master of healing," Wong promises. "Your private life in none of her concern."

"Who's we?"

Wong sighs, unsure how to proceed.

"Strange also expressed concern about her attitude. He said you're anything but a bad student in his class, there's no way you do that badly in hers." Laurie nods, thinking that if he just told her that, they wouldn't have argued. "He's still not pleased with you, though."

"I know. I love him, but I do the worst job possible at showing it. He's not much better in that aspect, but... I think I just ask for more than he can offer." She sighs. "I want to make up, but perhaps it's better that I just leave."

"Leave?"

"Yes. I have a nice diploma and some experience, as well as 3 friends willing to house me for a year if I need a place to stay. I only came here to control my powers. Done. I can leave. Unless there's a policy on that I'm not aware of?"

Wong shakes his head.

"No, but... You can't give up like this."

"Of course I can. I only stayed for Stephen. We're done. Perhaps it's better for him as well that I leave."

"Don't make rash decisions."

"I'll try."

* * *

Laurie stays for a few more days, but brings up the topic while talking to her friends. 2 of them repeat the offer. The 3rd has recently had a baby and says that while she would offer shelter should there be an emergency, she's rather busy. That still leaves her with two options.

It's late at night when Laurie gets dragged out of bed. Most of the healers are away and she's the highest rank available. She's confused and scared when they shove her into the med bay, where an unconscious and feverish Stephen is panting on a bed. He's been missing all day, which wasn't unusual, but it seems he ran into trouble. Laurie quickly checks him for external wounds, but, apart from a cut, nothing seems to warrant his state. The other apprentices are around her.

"Okay, disinfect the wound. I'm going in."

She moves her hands the way she learned and puts both hands on his chest, concentrating. His heart is failing.

"SHIT!"

She instructs the others to start CPR. They move him to the floor. Laurie removes her hands to let them work, but moves them on his body and finds a poison quickly spreading in his blood. Not much time to analyse it, so she calls for a relic and gets started.

"Don't cover the cut."

She magically grabs the poison and sends it back to the cut, where is begins dripping down. It's a tiring job. She has to look everywhere. They're still doing compressions and an apprentice is keeping an eye on his heart. The others already gathered some poison and are off to the other experts to find a cure. Laurie cleans him up to her best ability, then starts over to be sure. It's a nasty poison, spreading in his body whenever it feels her weakness, but she keeps it at bay.

They rush in with the antidote. She feels the way it burns the gritty poison out of his body and sighs, relaxing. His heart restarts and they stop with the CPR.

"Go grab him something to eat. Light, preferably."

Stephen stirs just as the others are leaving. Laurie stays by his side. It's her duty as his main healer. He wakes up with a shocked gasp and jumps up in confusion.

"Relax, you're in the med bay," Laurie explains calmly, gently grabbing his shoulder. She's tired and worried, but tries to rein it in.

"Who got me here?" he asks, looking at her. She helps him into bed with his cloak's aid.

"I don't know. They just woke me up to save your life. You were poisoned."

"Yeah, things went bad today." He stops before they fall into their old routine, sighing. "Where is the healing master?"

"She took the best students on some sort of trip. I was the best one available. Somehow." Laurie gulps, but doesn't elaborate. Stephen avoids looking at her.

"You're not a bad healer just because she hates you. In fact, you proved yourself today."

"I'm still an awful girlfriend."

Stephen groans.

"Can we please talk about this tomorrow? I'm dead on my feet."

"In bed, more specifically, but okay."

A few apprentices rush in with soup and other food. Laurie helps Stephen up and with eating, then leaves when he's finished, instructing the others to inform her of any change.

* * *

In the morning, she's studying in the med bay, when he enters and sits down in front of her.

"Can we talk?" he asks. Laurie nods and puts her book down.

"Is there a chance?" she asks. He just shrugs.

"How do I know we won't get right back to this soon enough?"

"I love you," she says quietly. His eyes widen. "I thought you didn't and I wanted to avoid you taking advantage of me."

"Laurie..."

"You're always tired and stressed out and you took it out on me sometimes. I put up with it, but... I can't do it when I have my own problems. I can't live just as your support system." He nods, processing her words.

"Were you really that miserable by my side?"

"No, but I can't tell whether there were more highs than lows."

His eyes close as he takes a deep breath.

"Alright. I understand." He's resigned more than anything as he meets her gaze.

"There is another answer, though. You can let me leave. I'll return from time to time to further my studies of the mystic arts, but on my own, in the library, not in a group. You can come visit me and we can keep in touch."

"Long-distance relationship?"

"Yes. I've thought about this and it might work. You don't need me all the time."

"What about you? You only talk about my needs, my wants, but what do you want?" Stephen presses.

"I want you," Laurie admits. "But in a way you can't offer yourself to me. I figured that this is the best middle ground. We both have laptops and phones. Just... Just keep in touch. Can you do that? Like once a month at least."

'God, that's so little.'

"I can manage even once a week. I'd promise daily, but..."

"No. Don't make promises you can't keep. Once a month. I'll try to come by more often. Can I keep my sling ring?" He nods. "Alright, then... that's my offer. What do you say?"

She's miserable. He's sad, too, but she's close to tears. For a moment, he wonders whether he has the right to do this to her, to keep her chained to him. He's a sorcerer, she's a normal human. They picked their sides. Should he let them mingle?

"No. I can't do this to you. Just... Just go. You'll move on and be happy."

"B-but you..."

"I'll be fine. Just go."

"I won't be happy if you do this, Stephen. Let's just try. Please."

He takes a deep breath, wondering how long it will take her to find someone else. Preferably a human.

"Alright."

* * *

Tony Stark is cursing the dumb aliens who chose earth as their playground while he is shooting at them. What is so interesting about earth, anyway? It's boring as hell, yet everyone wants to conquer it.

He sees people rush into a pharmacy and rolls his eyes. What do they think a pharmacist is? Bruce Banner? Stephen Strange? Really, now.

Well, apparently the pharmacist is **something**  because the aliens who ran in get vaporized. The hell? Through the smoke, a familiar shiny orange weapon is visible as it hacks through the enemies. He flies over and sees a woman.

"Who the hell are you? One of Strange's?"

She's quite effective in battle, if he dares say so, hacking at aliens with her spear and the occasional spell.

"Yeah. Laurie Backus."

"Tony Stark and welcome to the team." He tosses her a communicator. "Can I leave this area to you?"

"Yup."

He flies off.

"Everyone say hi to Laurie. She's Strange's underling."

"I prefer the term 'girlfriend'," the sorcerer replies. Tony falters in flight.

"GIRLFRIEND?" echoes through the speaker from several people.

"While I do appreciate your not hiding our relationship, you could have told them after the fight," Laurie comments with a deadpan.

"The wizard is not a monk?" Tony asks.

"I was at the same temple?" Laurie offers.

"Fraternization? I thought you were better than that, Stephanie."

"Can we please focus on the world ending again?" Falcon asks.

"I thought you guys treat the end of the world more as an annoyance than anything else."

"Hasn't gotten dull yet," someone replies.

* * *

In the end, they defeat the latest menace and gather at the Avengers Tower. Laurie is rubbing Stephen's broken arm while the others are lying around.

"What are you doing?" Tony asks.

"She's a highly trained healer," Stephen explains. Laurie notices the fond smile on his face and kisses him briefly.

"Really? Can you look at my arm? I'll let you two go on a date on my money."

Laurie nods. After she's done with Stephen, she moves to Tony.

"It's an old wound. I usually can't help with those," she explains. "But I can heal the more recent issues."

"Please do." Laurie gets to work and he feels the comforting warmth of dulling pain. "So, about that date..."

Stephen laughs. When she's finished, Laurie falls on his lap, exhausted, so he wraps his arms around her and kisses her cheek.

"Friday alright?" he asks.

"Hope so. Might need to take a double shift after I bailed at work today. How about Sunday? Pharmacy is always closed on Sundays."

"Alright then."

Tony watches them, but looks away because the pure adoration in Stephen's eyes makes him feel intrusive. They're used to the stoic and snarky version of the doctor, not this gentle care he shows his lover. Laurie smiles and cuddles up to her boyfriend, settling in his arms like she belongs there.

It works, their little arrangement. She feels more special than she did sharing his room. When they talk, it's mostly pleasant and loving. When they see each other, they treasure every second of it. Laurie has always been independent. She figures she needs the space as well.


	2. Chapter 2

"Stephen, we need to get you into surgery right now," Christine told him, concern dripping from her voice.

"Just wait for Laurie. Keep me alive," he replied stubbornly. The woman rolled her eyes with a scoff. "An hour."

* * *

 

Laurie was 30 minutes early. Mostly because her boss took pity on her. She was half convinced that the man was a saint.

The pharmacist rushed in, guided by Christine. She immediately proceeded to heal the stab wound on her lover's stomach. Christine watched as the wound closed, skin knitting itself back together. Stephen had to catch Laurie when she faltered, losing her footing.

"Are you alright?"

She shrugged at his concern.

"Been taking someone else's shifts as well while she's on sick leave."

Christine brought her a glass of water, then Stephen portaled them to her small appartment. Laurie still seemed exhausted.

"Stay with me tonight?"

He briefly hesitated, then nodded. Laurie rarely asked him to stay. Their dates were usually planned.

"Ok. Just give me 5 minutes to make a few calls." He could hear the eye roll in Wong's voice, but the other man easily agreed to watch over the sanctum. When Stephen returned, Laurie looked marginally better. He sat down next to her, putting a hand on her forehead. "Are you sure you're not coming down with something yourself?"

"No, I'm... nope, not sure." She shrugged weakly. "Since that little stunt, the Avengers call me to heal them, too. It's tiring."

"You could refuse."

"I really can't. You medics forget, I took a Hippocratic oath, too." That shut him up.

"Let's get you in bed."

"You get a movie ready and I might just do something nice for you," she teased. He kissed her. "Hey, if I'm sick, you just got infected."

"I'll live."

He picked a movie and downloaded it on her laptop while she got changed into her pyjamas, then went into the bathroom. She came back just as he was settling down in bed and dropped something on her nightstand while he magically changed into his sleepwear.

"What's that?"

"A pregnancy test." The answer came out easily. That was not quite the way she'd been planning to tell him, but oh well. He was there and she couldn't wait anymore. If she wasn't pregnant, a hospital visit was in order with all the symptoms she'd been having. If she was, he would have to be part of the process.

A small, sadistic part of her was disappointed that he didn't freak out on the outside. The rest of her was disappointed by his passivity.

"That would explain the fatigue." A medical answer. Yay. Laurie sat down on the bed and he welcomed her in his arms. Ok, good. That could have gone worse. "Any other symptoms?"

"Morning sickness. Like almost all day sickness. I sort of feel bloated too. Period's late." He nodded, muttering a confirmation of her diagnosis. "Can you please give me a reasonable reaction?"

"Oh!" It hadn't occurred to him that she was nervous. "I'm sorry. I was thinking."

"Well, tell me what you're thinking."

"Wondering how to make it work. I'm almost always away, though maybe I can step down as sanctum master and that would leave me with more mobility... might have to get a job, or accept to sign the Accords..." Laurie was staring at him, speechless. He deadpanned. "Unless you have a confession to make and it's not mine."

"For the sake of peace, I'll let the last comment slide. Are you okay with this? I mean, it's a baby. A child. I'm gonna be a mother. You're gonna be a father. It's a huge responsibility."

"No contraceptive is 100% effective and we've been using condoms for quite some time." He shrugged. "I guess I sort of expected this to eventually happen."

She guessed she should have, too. Hormones made her act crazy, so she never used those. She was scheduled for an IUD, but apparently she needed to change the appointment. So condoms were their favourite and only contraception used. And now she had a personal story to share about why using two means of contraception was best. Yay.

She rolled away from him to take the small stick in her hand. Yup, two lines. Stephen was watching over her shoulder.

"Now it stopped being a hypothetical discussion," Laurie said. She felt him kiss her neck and wrap an arm around her waist.

"You'll make a good mother. Even with an absentee father."

"In your dreams," the woman retorted. "This baby is visiting Kamar Taj on weekends." She rolled around to face him. "You'll be changing your share of diapers, Mr Doctor Sorcerer Supreme." He chuckled and showed his hands. She rolled her eyes and intertwined their fingers together. "Magic, darling. It won't save you from the smell, though."

"Alright then. It's a date."

Laurie laughed and hugged him tight, finally not worrying about the future anymore.

* * *

 

Six months later, she was laughing with her friends in her appartment.

"I seriously can't believe you're the second one who got pregnant," a woman commented.

"I can. She had the most sex," a man retorted, getting a pillow to the head. "Ow, hey!"

"But where's the father?" the first woman asked. Laurie shrugged.

"I don't know. He'll drop by tonight or tomorrow to help me assemble everything."

"You know, we can do that." There was a silent moment as glances were exchanged. "Yeah, just enjoy your time together."

"You don't have to. Really. I barely see you guys anymore," she assured them.

"Nonsense. We're just talking. We can do that while we're building stuff. Come on, have a seat."

Laurie blushed, but obeyed as her oldest friends began setting up the nursery. The other mother of the group occasionally gave some parenting advice.

* * *

 

Stephen came the next day, tired, but resigned with having work to do. Well, magic would make things easier, at least. He didn't expect Laurie to be waiting for him with a homemade meal and the nursery ready. She smiled warmly, opening her arms.

"My friends set up everything and I promise I didn't cook that." He hadn't even dared hope to hear such sweet words.

"Remind me to thank them." He hugged her and kissed her forehead, glancing at the nursery. Laurie noticed and dragged him in, showing him around.

"It's all ready. Just need the baby."

"Well, don't hurry with that." A shaky hand rested on her belly. Her smile lit up the entire room.

The meal was satisfying. Laurie ate as well, chatting. He found out that it didn't make her nauseous like many other foods. It had been cooked at her place by her friends. Apparently, the reason she was bad at cooking was that she was the assigned dishwasher. He simply cast a spell for that.

Laurie complained about being rendered redundant and dragged him into the bedroom, kissing him heatedly.

"We shouldn't..." he began. She whined. "You're in the third trimester."

"I'll ride you." His breath hitched, pupils dilated. "Please. I'll take it slow." Her voice had dropped, a seductive tint colouring it. Stephen hesitated. "I'll be careful." A naughty hand rubbed him through his pants. She couldn't help her smile when she felt him harden.

Fuck it, enough books said it was safe unless they got acrobatic.

"Okay."

* * *

 

"Boy or girl?" Laurie asked later that night. Stephen hummed in thought. The gender reveal was delayed because their baby seemed bent on hiding what was between their legs.

"I don't know."

The consequence was that they had mixed clothing. All colours. Pink, blue, yellow, red, purple, everything. Though they had insisted that everyone refrained from buying clothing that had things like "daddy's girl" or "mommy's boy" on them (that left them with other funny writing, though). Laurie had still not bought any clothing. Between the Avengers (especially Tony) and her friends, she had enough things to have an outfit every single day for two months.

His fingers twitched softly on her belly when a kick moved them.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"No. Not yet, at least. It just sucks when they sit on my bladder." Laurie shrugged, not turning around. "I think it's a girl."

"Assuming their gender, how rude," he teased.

"Oh, shut up. If they're a girl, you're buying me something nice."

"I could bring you a pretty protective charm."

"I'm fine." She huffed. "I can take care of myself."

"You're pregnant."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been pregnant for 7 months already." Her hand grabbed his. "Did any new threat arise?" Stephen didn't answer. "Lying and hiding the truth won't protect me."

"A rogue sorcerer has become more active lately," he finally admitted. "And let's say he has a particular grudge to settle with me."

"You think he might target me?"

"I hope not, but..." Stephen hesitated, his worry obvious. Laurie sighed.

"I'll take the protective charm. And you can... no, you should ward the nursery. Even after I give birth, our baby should be protected." She felt him kiss her neck and the bed shifted as he got up. "You spending the night?"

"Yes. Let me just take care of the wards, then I'll return."

"Cover me while you're at it. I'm freezing."

Another kiss before the blanket covered her naked body and her lover left. Laurie sighed and rolled to her other side. She could do this. Dating the Sorcerer Supreme was bound to make her a target and she could deal with that. Or at least she thought so. She was a highly trained sorcerer, specialising in healing, but still. She could hold her own.

"Ring or bracelet?" Stephen asked when he returned.

"Are you proposing?"

"Bracelet. Got it."

Laurie rolled her eyes and carefully put on the bracelet. It was a simple design, pretty much a string with a stone. Art was not one of his many talents. Stephen got under the blanket, spooning her.

"Put some of your magic in it and I'll feel it. It's like an SOS."

"And it's better than a phone call because...?"

"It can be subtle? I am guaranteed to hear it, even from another dimension?"

"Got it. How does this Mordo look like and why does he hate you, anyway?"

"Here's how I remember him." Stephen showed her a picture. Laurie shifted to make him loosen his arms, then spun around to see his face. Sort of. It was dark.

"Why does he hate you?"

"That's... not important."

"Stephen." He sighed, avoiding the question. It was obviously making him uncomfortable. Laurie found his hands and gripped them in hers. "Who am I running from?"

"You're not running. It's... He was my mentor. I... He left after I defeated Dormmamu. Said I'd messed with the natural rules. Now he's hunting down sorcerers for bending those rules."

Laurie was absently rubbing his hands.

"I see... do you fear him?"

"No. I don't think he would hurt you, especially now. But he would take away your magic."

She shrugged.

"And I won't allow that."

"Exactly. If he comes, don't fight. Hide. Call me. Please, don't engage." She searched for his face in the darkness, but his voice was enough to convince her.

"Alright. I wouldn't endanger our baby." She felt him relax.

"Good. That's good. I love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

 

"Call him."

"No."

"Laurie, if you don't call him, I will."

"Alex, relax, I'm not even actively pushing."

"Yes, but he deserves to know."

"How about I call him when I start pushing?"

"So I can put you on speaker and he can hear you scream?"

Laurie rolled her eyes at her friend.

"I'll text him. Happy?"

"Yes. What kind of relationship do you even have? Wouldn't he want to know his baby's coming?"

She flipped off her friend and took her phone from the nightstand.

"Make yourself useful. Dilatation?"

"6."

"Okay."

'Labor. 6 cm.'

Alex snatched her phone when she moved to put it back on the nightstand.

"How romantic," she said drily. The phone rang in her hand. Laurie grunted through a contraction, so she put it on speaker.

"Do you want me to come?" Stephen asked, casually.

"Do you have anything better to do?" Laurie replied.

"Not quite. Some paperwork, but if you ask me to be there, I will."

Alex was giving her a very expressive look.

"I'd rather have you around when the show gets started properly. Like fully, with screaming, crying, mess, all that. And especially when the baby arrives."

"I can do both."

"Then take a nap. I'll call you when I start pushing."

"Love you. Try and rest."

Click.

"Are you sure you love him?" the other woman asked.

"Are you sure you're my friend?" Laurie fired back.

"Okay, fine. But you have what looks like an amazing man by your side and you're pushing him away. Care to tell me why? Why don't you even live together?" Alex asked. Laurie stood silent. "And how quickly can he get here?"

"Instantly."

"He's a doctor?" Then she could understand not wanting to distract him from his work. Laurie had never told her friends exactly who she was dating, just about every other detail about their relationship.

"Yeah... Doctor Stephen Strange."

Silence.

"That...?"

"Exactly that one."

"Alright, that explains things."

So Alex stopped pestering Laurie. Instead, when the nurse came next, the two were caught in a rather intense game of poker.

"8cm."

"Well, that's one lazy baby," Laurie muttered. Alex chuckled.

"If we're lucky, she'll be sleeping all day."

"Yup."

The phone beeped. Alex gave it to Laurie.

'Still not there?'

'8cm.'

'You should ask for painkillers and sleep.'

'You were a neurosurgeon. Let the obgyn do her job.'

"You can occasionally throw in a kiss, you know? Like 'hey, I still like you.'"

"I tell him face to face. If I sent a kiss now, he'd think I'm high as a kite." Laurie rolled her eyes. Yes, she was about as romantic as a broken arm. So what?

'I'm just worried about you.'

The other woman gave her a look.

'Don't be. Women have been giving birth for as long as humans existed.'

The answer came quickly.

'And dying in the process in a ridiculously high percent.'

At this, Laurie hesitated. It was one thing to act cool. It was another to dismiss his genuine informed concern like it was nothing. Alex was still giving her a look.

"What do I say?" Laurie asked helplessly.

"Thank him for worrying."

"And?"

"Maybe ask him if he wants to come? Or..." fake gasp "... make it romantic?"

Laurie sighed.

'I love you too.'

"Yeah, that works."

The contractions were getting more painful.

"Dilatation?"

Alex checked between her legs and screamed

"Nurse!"

'10cm. Let's get this party started.'

* * *

 

She was kneeling on the bed, with one arm over Alex' shoulders and the other over Stephen. Her friend was energetically rubbing her back.

"This is better," Laurie had noticed as soon as she was up. Another contraction rippled through her and she fisted her hands in their shirts, whining in pain. Stephen reached up to wipe her face with a small rag. She was panting heavily, the pain getting to her. Still, she hadn't taken an epidural, knowing that it would slow her down. Both her and the baby were healthy and in the right position. Natural birth it was. "Stephen..."

"It'll be over soon," he said gently. "Then we'll have a baby and it will all seem worth it."

"Maybe for you."

He smiled and kissed her temple.

"You should get that IUD as soon as possible then."

"Deal."

Another contraction, somehow stronger than all the others. She arched, pushing until it ended, then relaxed, panting. Laurie's body was shaking when her head dropped forward.

"I can't..."

He manoeuvred on the bed to keep supporting her and get her head on his shoulder.

"Just breathe. You know how."

"I can't do this!"

Stephen winced. She'd screamed right in his ear.

"Yes, you can. Come on, Laurie," Alex encouraged, "you are the strongest woman I know."

"I just... I need a break." She whimpered through another strong contraction, clinging to her lover. It took her more time to regain her breath now.

"Don't speak," Stephen advised, "just breathe. Ouch." She lightly pulled on his hair despite taking his advice.

"Kiss me," she then whispered in his ear. He complied with the request, although it surprised him. He started short and chaste, but it quickly became obvious that Laurie just wanted a distraction from the pain. Okay, fine. Her other arm curled around him, nails digging into his shoulders. Alex had moved out of the way. She was doing her best to ignore the small pool of what looked like blood between her friend's legs.

Laurie grunted when the next contraction came, but she didn't let Stephen pull away. Alex had moved behind her and was now rubbing her back with both hands. But just...

"Lower," Stephen told her, briefly breaking away from Laurie's lips as the latter panted, trying to regain her breath. Kissing was amazing for dulling the pain. Breathing? Not so much.

Alex startled, staring at him over her friend's shoulder. He nodded. She slowly moved her hands lower, until he said

"Right there." He was jerked into another demanding kiss with the next contraction.

"You're crowning," the obgyn informed. "Everything looks good, so just a few big pushes."

Alex looked at the mirror between her legs. Right. She should be getting ready to move out of the way.

"Stephen..."

"You're doing great. Almost there."

"I still have ears," she muttered before the next contraction.

Once the baby's head was out, Alex was moved out of the way and Laurie leaned forward even more, following Stephen who had shifted further down the bed.

She screamed against his lips when the baby slid out. The after birth followed a little later. Alex seriously debated never having children.

Laurie moved to a clean bed, in which she collapsed, exhausted. She stretched her arms out.

"Baby."

The doctor chuckled and a nurse approached with the little one, all wrapped up in a blanket.

"Congratulations, you have a healthy baby girl."

"Called it." Stephen rolled his eyes and sat next to her bed, watching the baby with fascination, like he'd never seen one before. "You worked in a hospital."

"It's different when it's mine," he replied. He'd focused on helping Laurie and didn't get a good look at his daughter. Now, Laurie was letting her feed and he didn't want to interrupt.

"You can hold her when she's done feeding," Laurie offered. He smiled.

"Now who's reading minds?"

"It's not that hard to guess what you're thinking. Though I must warn you, this is more blanket than baby." His laughter warmed her heart. "Come closer."

The little one looked up after she was done feeding, wide baby blue eyes staring at them. A strong love for this tiny bean enveloped him. It was unlike anything else he had ever felt before. Sure, he loved Laurie and had loved people in his life, but this was different. It was powerful, all-encompassing and possessive. Protective to the bone. It surprised him. He had heard about bonding with the baby and all that, but this was unexpected. He felt like he'd level mountains and slay Dormammu to protect her.

"Stephen?" He hummed in response, still caught up in his revelation. "Can we name her Alex?"

He looked around the room. The woman had mysteriously vanished quickly after the birth.

"Sure."

* * *

 

When Alex returned, Laurie and the little one were sleeping, Stephen gently rocking the baby. The woman tilted her head to the side. His grip was a bit strange, resting as much weight as possible on his arms, with little use of his hands. Oh well. Baby didn't seem to mind.

"We're naming her Alexandra," he whispered. Her eyes widened.

"You don't have to!" He shrugged.

"Laurie chose it. It's as good a name as any, really."

She was ready to protest more, like how she'd only hung around as a friend and many other reasons why they didn't owe her anything, but decided against it. She should just accept the honour and shut up.

"Thank you."

She sat down next to him, not too subtly trying to get a look at the baby. Stephen smiled and indulged her. Well, so far, she looked like a potato, but Alex had seen babies before and had an idea what they would look like and what not to say to new parents. So she just smiled and didn't ask to hold her, not until she woke up.

* * *

 

"You can't possibly be serious!" Tony complained.

"Deadly."

Steve, who was apparently a great baby pillow due to his huge arms, sighed.

"It's her daughter, Tony."

"Exactly! She should be named after me!"

Laurie was just amused.

"No, she's being named after one of her godparents."

Tony sank to the floor.

"I'm not a godparent?"

"No, my friends are. Stephen had no preference, so I chose my two closest friends of each gender."

"Fine." The engineer really couldn't claim her friendship. Like, yeah, friends, but not the bff she was implying.

"Where is he, anyway?" Clint asked. He was distracting the little one with a shiny arrow, but Laurie wasn't worried. He'd had babies. He knew what they were made of.

"Pestering the doctor to sign our release form." The Avengers laughed. "If you want, I can name her Stark, though."

"No, you can't," Stephen stated, stepping in. "Even over my dead body."

"Can't brag about your family name, dear." The offended look didn't vanish from his face. "Fine then. You deal with a lifetime of nicknames."

"Already did. Anyway, we can go."

"You got her to sign?" Laurie started to pack her things.

"I pulled seniority on her."

"You were in a different field."

"The best field."

"Whatever."

Stephen picked up his daughter.

"Your hands don't hurt?" Tony asked innocently.

"I use mostly my arms to support her weight," the doctor explained. "I would hold her even if it hurt, though."

Laurie rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek.

"Come on, Hercules, let's go home."

"I'll take you there. There's enough room in the limo," Tony offered.

"Thanks."

* * *

 

Stephen managed to hang around a few more days until he was literally pulled back to Kamar Taj.

The next months were chaotic. Stephen would come whenever he could, help a little with diapers and stuff, maybe cast some house maintenance spells, then get busy again. Laurie tried her best not to complain. After all, it was more than she had expected. But frustration and loneliness piled up, especially when little Alexandra turned out to be colicky. Big Alex dropped by like a dutiful godmother, but feedings were up to Laurie, not to mention that the other woman had a job, which occasionally called her in during weekends.

So when Stephen walked in on a screaming baby and asked what was wrong again in a rightfully concerned tone, she snapped. Hard.

Laurie couldn't remember what she said or did, but she knew it wasn't pretty. Quite the opposite, it was accusing. Biting. Hurtful. Exhausted. Painful. And when she was done, she stormed towards the nursery, perhaps a little too violently, because the way he grabbed her arm and jerked her back let her know that he was genuinely worried about his daughter's safety around her. Stephen was ready for a new round of yelling, but that wasn't what he got. Laurie sank down, sobbing.

"I'm sorry..."

He wrapped her in his arms, squeezing tight like he could glue back together the scattered pieces of her sanity.

"I'm sorry..."

She felt like shit for snapping at him. He was doing his best. He couldn't just let the world end because he had a family, that would not be right, not to mention counterproductive.

"I'm so sorry..."

Her breasts were leaking, soaking up the front of her shirt and quite possibly his as well. It was feeding time.

"It's okay. You're okay."

No, she wasn't okay. She was sleep deprived, worried, dirty and now quite embarrassed, not to mention self-loathing. She didn't deserve this man.

"I need to go feed Alex."

"Okay." He pulled back, but didn't let go of her hands. "But after that, get changed and go take a walk. Clear your head. And when you come back, precisely for her next meal, take a bath."

Laurie wiped her tears.

"Okay... come with me?"

* * *

 

Some time later, a portal opened in the middle of the Avengers compound.

"I NEED A BABYSITTER!"

Peter landed gracefully in front of Stephen, who had changed into casual clothes.

"Can I?"

"Only if you find an adult to team up with."

Bucky happened to wander in. The other two turned towards him.

"What?"

* * *

 

"So we just have to suck it up and make sure she doesn't die in a few hours?" The Winter Soldier was not babysitter material. Peter was basically a genetically engineered baby soother, so he was only there to watch Peter, but still. He was not babysitter material.

"Pretty much."

"And you trust me with your baby?"

"The nursery is warded. You can't enter with malevolent intent. Plus, Cloak's here." 'Just try anything and see what happens' was the message. Bucky was not going to try anything, but the additional protection was a load off his back.

* * *

 

Laurie was waiting outside. She didn't trust herself to do anything at that point.

"Who's babysitting?" she asked Stephen when he came down.

"Peter." He slid his hand into hers and began leading her away.

"And?"

"Cloak."

"And?"

"Bucky." She stopped walking, then spun around. "It'll be fine. You need this."

"You left a criminal with double personality with our baby!"

"Peter's there." Which was a very strong point, considering the teen could run laps around the other man.

"Great, another kid!"

"Laurie..."

"This is why I can't trust you!"

He pulled her close and slammed his lips onto hers in an attempt to silence her. It worked. She was touch-starved and melted into his arms, hugging him tight when the kiss ended.

"I'm still displeased."

"You know I love Alex as much as you do, right?" She nodded. "Then trust me." With a heavy sigh, Laurie relented.

"Alright. I'm sorry about whatever I said earlier."

"I figured you didn't mean it when you called me a shiny nutcracker."

"What does that even mean?" Laurie asked with a chuckle.

"Exactly my point."

She wrapped her arms around one of his and they resumed walking. His bruises had healed, though she still felt guilty for the mess she'd made of his arm.

"I'm sorry about spilling my milk on you today."

"I've done a few rotations in the hospital. This isn't even worth mentioning as bad fluids," he easily dismissed. "Besides, it didn't taste that bad."

She made a disgusted face.

"Tell me you didn't."

"Would you believe me?"

"That was for the baby!" Laurie hissed, revolted.

"It was already spilled. Though can I get a live sample?"

She covered her chest with both arms, fake panicked.

"Don't even think about it!"

"Hmm, bet I can take some now!"

Laurie evaded him when he pounced and started running, holding her chest.

"I can't run, they're sensitive, you ass!" she complained. He wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"Alright, no running, momma bear!"

The next few hours went by with easy banter and teasing jokes. When they came back, they were in for a treat. Bucky was watching TV, on his stomach, shirtless. Baby Alex was sleeping on his back, Peter gently rubbing her tiny belly.

"Should I ask?" Stephen inquired.

"It was Peter's idea."

"Well, I remembered that when my stomach hurts, I sometimes only need some warmth, but, like, not too much, so since I'm a bit colder and..."

"Okay, got it," Laurie retorted. The baby opened her eyes and started fussing. It was quite funny how the two babysitters got deer in headlights looks. "I got this. She's hungry." She picked up her daughter, who was already pulling on her shirt. "Thanks, guys."

Stephen remained alone with the two. Bucky put his shirt back on.

"Ok, job done and then some. Thank you very much."

"It's always a pleasure, Dr Strange!" Peter eagerly replied. Bucky shrugged. He was quite a bit more self confident after seeing that he could keep such fragile company safe. Perhaps there was hope for him.

They left through a portal.

* * *

 

Stephen leaned against the doorframe, watching Laurie in the rocking chair as their daughter angrily fed. The pout on her little face was adorable. Her mother seemed to share his opinion. It was such a silent, peaceful moment...

"No, you can't have any," Laurie joked when she noticed him.

"I love you," he said in return, warm and open. Well, that was not what she had been expecting, though it was not unwelcome.

"I love you, too. Come sit with us?"

He pulled up a small chair next to them and just watched, basking in the moment of calm. Soon enough, Alex fell asleep. Laurie gradually stopped rocking, then put the baby in her crib. Stephen pulled her towards the bathroom.

"Bath."

"Ok, ok, now shoo." He seemed confused. "One of us has to be on baby call."

"She'll be fine. We can keep a portal open."

Truth be told, it was her body she was ashamed of. She'd avoided stretch marks like a champ during most of the pregnancy, then, in her last month, they'd seemed to pop up everywhere. Not to mention the whole deflated balloon look. Well, that had softened compared to the first week (thank God), but it was still far from what he had seen. And while her vagina had healed up nicely, it still felt different. Her boobs were fine, if eternally sore. Was it wrong to hide? Most likely. She bit her bottom lip. It was mostly the stretch marks. Otherwise, he was an adult. She didn't think he'd be put off by anything else.

"Alright, fine."

They were crowded inside her bath tube, but the complete disregard for personal space made up for it. She leaned against him, sighing in bliss as the warm water soaked her up. And then he was washing her hair. Could she keep this man?

"You bounced back nicely after giving birth."

Don't get hurt. Don't get hurt.

"The fact that you said anything at all means that something unexpected happened."

"Exactly what I said happened. Though, I guess that was to be expected. Usually, fitness means an easier recovery. Not always, but..." She could picture him shrugging.

"I'm still not quite back."

"You'll never be perfectly back."

"But you'll love me anyway?" Now she was just milking it.

"Of course." At least he was indulging her.

He rinsed her hair, then moved it to the side to plant kisses on her neck.

"Stephen, I'm breastfeeding. My vagina is sand dry."

"I can summon magical lube. How's your libido?"

"I don't know... Keep going." A hand moved over her inner thigh as he sucked on that spot on her neck that made her weak. She just knew he was hard, even though their hips had gained some distance when he'd started washing her. Shit. "Okay, libido reporting for duty. But..." she grabbed his wrists. "Let's finish washing first. And condoms."

"You're breastfeeding."

"You disappoint me, doctor."

* * *

 

They didn't make it to the bed. He pushed her up against the wall, almost blind with lust.

"I'm sorry, I..." He had no idea why he was so desperate already. It had been a while, true, not to mention that they had been teasing each other in the bath, but still.

"Just put it in, dammit!" She was not in a much more sober position, dryness forgotten, though he stayed true to his word and used the magical lube. Laurie moaned, tossing her head back. God, she'd missed this, missed the way the world seemed to dissolve around them, leaving just the two of them in a bubble of pleasure, the way he seemed to lose himself in her as she lost herself in him. This was the strongest bond possible between two human beings and she'd never found it with another man, never felt it with someone else. It was more than lust, it was an unstoppable force, it was love.

"Stephen..." she whimpered, meeting his eyes with a desperate look. "Close..." So close. Almost, almost there. If she just... He bit her neck, giving a harsh thrust at the same time, and she came, screaming unapologetically. He smashed their lips together as he followed her over the edge.

Still high, she numbly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and carded her fingers through his hair. As her breathing evened, she began laying kissed on the side of his neck.

"I love you so much..." she whispered against his ear, smiling when he shivered.

"Love you too," he muttered, kissing her shoulder. He slid out of her and got rid of the condom.

Laurie went straight to the nursery. Cloak was dutifully watching over Alex. The baby was still asleep. Her next meal would come soon.

"Did you change her diaper?" The relic nodded. "Thanks."

Yes, they were using a strong ancient relic as a stand in babysitter. Laurie was dreading the day she would have to explain to her daughter the difference between living and inanimate things.

She went to bed, informed Stephen (and Cloak) to bring Alex to her when she was hungry, and passed out.

* * *

 

"Dada!"

Stephen smiled widely and picked up his daughter. She was laughing and clapping, encouraged by her parents' joy.

"I spend all day with her and this is her first word," Laurie complained, taking care to stay cheerful.

"It's what you say more often."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"Dada!" Alex made a grab for the Cloak, but the relic floated away. The toddler pouted, lower lip jutting out.

"None of that now," Stephen soothed, setting her down. He took care to keep her entertained, though, conjuring a butterfly.

"I'm thinking of returning to work early," Laurie informed.

"A babysitter would be useful, then." She appreciated how practically he treated every change. She never needed to worry about him lashing out, not that she would have stuck around had that been the case. He never pushed her into anything and didn't offer an opinion unless she asked. Unfortunately, part of that was because he felt like he didn't have the right to.

"There's a nursery on my way to work. Open all day." Stephen briefly scanned her.

"Is money the reason?"

"No. I want her to socialise."

"I meant for returning to work. I know I'm not providing much..."

"You bring me groceries from cheap, healthy places and rarely ask for money. Tony Stark, your friend, made sure that I never paid for a single diaper or the birth. I don't need a car. I have no idea what you did, but I don't need heating, either." Laurie shrugged. "I know that I'm not actually seeing any money from you, but you're contributing, regardless."

Alex was crawling after the Cloak, who floated higher. While the relic was willing to play with the little girl, touching seemed to be a big no. The toddler sat down and stretched. Nope.

"If you need anything..."

"I'm returning for a promotion. I missed it last time, now the guy who got it left. If I don't return within a month, I'll miss it again."

"That's blackmail."

"Barely. I'm fine, anyway."

Alex stood up and grabbed the red fabric, who twitched, surprised. Laurie immediately had her phone in her hand. Stephen stared.

"Her first step!" the mother cooed.

"First word and first step in one day?" Stephen asked, concentrated on the moment. His hands were shaking too badly for pictures.

"As if! First word was a while ago. You just missed it."

Alex turned towards her father.

"Dada!"

"No, that's Cloak," he corrected. Alex stepped towards him, pulling on the Cloak. The strong relic, apparently resigned, followed her like a floating balloon.

"Dada!" The toddler tumbled towards Stephen the last few steps. He stretched to catch her, but Cloak was faster and lifted her up to deposit in her master's arms. Alex was laughing. Laurie kept filming for a few moments, then stopped the camera.

"That's it! You did great!" he praised, hugging his daughter close. She seemed bent on handing him the Cloak. When he touched the relic, it returned to his shoulders. Alex clapped.

"I think she was returning the Cloak to you," Laurie guessed. "Naughty Cloak left daddy, didn't it?" she asked, tickling Alex.

* * *

 

"We should ask everyone to call you mommy," Stephen suggested a few hours later, after they'd put Alex to sleep. They were getting ready for bed, too.

"Don't scare me."

"When she starts calling you Laurie..."

"Ok, fine. Move." He rolled his eyes and rolled to the other side of the bed. "How's Mordo doing?"

"Fine." Mentioning the other sorcerer seemed to dampen the mood considerably. Laurie sighed and reached for his hands.

"Take a look around the park tomorrow." Stephen tensed. "I felt a weird energy."

"I swear, if he touches either of you..."

His protectiveness warmed her heart, but the growl in his voice was too unlike him.

"He won't. Trust me. Check the park tomorrow, but not with me." His hands tightened their grip around hers. "Ok?"

"Do you still have the charm?"

"Yes, and I've been testing some spells. My magic is fine." While pregnant, magic had tired her more and more, until she gave up on it completely during the last trimester and Alex's first months. Laurie waved her hands and a flame appeared in her open palm. "It doesn't even wear me out anymore."

"How quickly can you put up a shield?"

She rolled away from him, fists up with shields. Stephen watched her evenly, resting on an elbow. Laurie wrapped a whip around his free arm. His eyes trailed the weapon critically. He moved to grab it with the bound arm and pulled a little. The woman didn't falter. Stephen hummed and pulled harder, adding some magical pressure until it gave in.

"Not bad." Better than he had expected and quite a bit better than he remembered, though, admittedly, he hadn't taught her in years. Still not enough to defeat Mordo, but she would be able to stall. "Bad comes to worse, open a portal in the middle of Kamar Taj." She rolled her eyes and joined him in bed, poking his chest. His body tensed up and froze.

"I'll be fine." It took him a few seconds and some magical effort to recover from the spell. "That's a medical spell by the way." Laurie ruffled his hair, smiling. Stephen nodded, still a little stiff.

"Got it. I'll still worry until you're safe."

"Okay. Now roll over if you want a massage."

He moaned as he settled down.

"I can't even remember the last time you offered."

She straddled his back, shrugging.

"You could always ask."

"You were pregnant. I was supposed to offer massages, not ask for them." There was more self-deprecation in his voice than she liked. He sometimes got like this, when he was reminded of his hands. He could use magic to stabilise them, but she knew it was quite draining, not to mention painful, and for a massage, he needed strength, not just dexterity.

Laurie honestly didn't care. His hands were a part of him and they channelled his magic more than just fine. To be fair, it was endearing to know that he had a weakness. It made him more human. Sometimes, when he walked in through a portal, all battered up and with magic still shining around him, she would forget that. She would think she had bedded some ethereal being from another realm. She wondered if he noticed how much he hid them on a daily basis. Behind his back. Under the table.

"Hmm, but if you were a perfectly self sufficient human with no weaknesses, what would you need me for?" She silently vowed to hit him if he said sex.

"Healing when I come back with a severed arm." That had been one thing she never thought she'd be able to heal, but the thin scar on his arm said otherwise. Stephen shrugged. "Mothering." She scoffed. "You quite dislike traditionally female roles. Why?"

"I studied my ass off my whole life and someone decided that's worth nothing, unless I spread my legs and poop babies. I had sleepless nights and didn't go out with others, but that's useless because I don't cook." In her defence, she was now good enough not to kill her daughter, though seasoning was guesswork so she barely put anything not already in the recipe. He was a bit worried about Alex's taste buds. "I can kill aliens and heal you, but I'm not good enough because the house isn't tidy." She forced herself to relax and let the magic work. "So yeah, traditional female roles are shit because they imply that everything I'm working for is worth nothing." There wasn't much he could say to that. "I do it, yes. I'm a mother. I like to think I'm not a shitty one. Hell, I do my best. I do these things. But I can't wait for my daughter to grow up so that I can treat her like a tiny adult, not a baby."

Stephen hummed in thought.

"You didn't want children."

"Not exactly. I wasn't bent on not having any, but I wouldn't have made a tragedy out of it."

"Don't tell her." Laurie made an offended sound.

"What sort of monster do you think I am? We wanted her, we love her and we were excited when she was born. End of story." It wasn't even a lie. Laurie would have just gotten an abortion without telling Stephen anything if she didn't want children at all. She rolled her eyes and smirked when he moaned weakly. Bingo. For a few moments, she'd thought she'd forgotten how to give a killer massage.

"Good, that's good." Whatever she did eased all the stress from his body. He really hated his hands. "Forget about Sorcerer Supreme, you've got the most magical hands in the world."

Laurie laughed. It was easy to learn his body when he was the only one she was doing this for. When she finished, she stepped off and got into bed. Stephen stood there, eyes closed. He seemed to be sleeping. She chuckled and covered him before she fell asleep.

* * *

 

"Mama!"

Laurie lifted her eyes from her book to see what Alex was showing her. A very red napkin.

"Is that Cloak?"

"Yes! Oak!" Laurie chuckled. Third word had been 'Cloak', or at least a very obvious attempt at it. And she was mama, thank you very much, Stephen.

Alex threw the napkin and seemed very disappointed that it wasn't floating.

"Sorry, Alex, only daddy's Cloak flies."

"Eyes?" Alex pointed to her face. She had taken to imitating whatever words she found important or interesting.

"No, flies. Like the birdies. What do the birdies do?" The toddler stretched out her arms and waved them. "That's right. Daddy's Cloak does that, too." Laurie was trying really hard to make a distinction between the Cloak of Levitation and other inanimate objects, with various degree of success.

"No."

"No? Why not?" Through the answering babble she picked up the (rather obvious) complaint that the Cloak didn't have wings. Well, she couldn't argue against that. "Guess you're right, but things can fly without wings." Pause. Alex seemed to be considering the option. Laurie used the time to think of an example. Aircrafts, maybe? Ugh. "Ask your daddy when he comes by next time."

She could distantly hear a voice saying that was really bad parenting. So she texted him

'Think of something that flies without wings.'

Alex could forget, but then again, they learned the hard way that she usually didn't.

'Balloons.'

'Preferably alive.'

It took him longer to answer this time.

'I hate you.'

Laurie laughed. She took Alex to the bathroom for a shower, then read her bedtime story. After the toddler was asleep, she put a silencing spell around the room and went to watch a movie. Or at least she intended to.

There was a man in her living room, whom she immediately recognised. Mordo. Laurie approached slowly.

"What do you want?" Some magic wove around her wrist, into the protective charm.

"I believe you have spoken to Strange," he began, stepping towards her.

"My magic. Sorry, can't have it." Laurie conjured a weapon.

"No, from you I want something else, too. He's going to be here soon."

Then he was on her. Faster and stronger than she'd expected. Laurie flew into the opposite wall, having to roll away from his punches. She gasped when he grabbed her by the neck, hands flailing.

"I expected more from Strange's wife."

She grabbed his arm and he dropped her, falling down like a log.

"I'm a healer, you idiot!" she chocked out, putting some distance between them.

"Mama?" Alex asked, poking her head out.

"Go to your room." The girl hesitated, eyes wide. "Stay in your room!" Alex darted back to her bed. Mordo followed and crashed right into the defensive ward. Laurie shoved some magic into the protection charm with her other hand. Perhaps it hadn't worked the first time? "If you touch my daughter, Stephen will be the last of your problems."

Mordo turned towards her and conjured a sword. He lounged. Laurie parried, but got a kick in the stomach.

Whips wrapped around Mordo's neck and jerked him away from her.

"You must have a death wish, coming after my family!" Stephen growled. With a wave of his hand, they were all in the Mirror Dimension. "Go to Alex!"

Mordo broke his whips and made the walls around Stephen spin. The Cloak lifted him up and kept him floating. A painting flew at his face, followed by all their furniture.

"She's fine!" Laurie retorted, going after Mordo. The rogue sorcerer used a shield to defend himself, keeping Stephen busy with other spells. Laurie flew into a window. Mordo followed.

"Shit!" Stephen still had a few spells to manage before he could join them. He was in for a treat.

Laurie and Mordo were fighting sideways on the block. A sofa and other furniture would occasionally appear from the windows. Stephen caught Mordo with a whip, but the rogue cut it. He was still experienced enough to hold off both of them.

In the end, while Stephen was keeping him busy, it was Laurie who stabbed him with a conjured sword, right in the heart. Stephen's eyes widened.

"Heal him!"

"What for?"

"We need to interrogate him and see if we can reverse his spells. Heal him!"

Laurie rolled her eyes and knelt. As the wound healed, Stephen bound the man with magical strings, then sent him to Kamar Taj via portal. Then he turned towards his lover.

"I told you to go to Alex."

"She's just scared. The wards kept her safe," Laurie countered. Stephen rolled his eyes. "Why are you angry?"

"Your job was to protect yourself and her! Mine was to catch Mordo."

"Yeah, cause if he defeated you, I would have done such a splendid job protecting her." The woman crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's not what this is about! There's an enemy in your house and your first reflex is to engage? What if he wanted to kill you?"

"No, my first reflex was to call your dumb ass, but fuck yeah, I'll fight! That's what I am, you idiot! A sorcerer."

"You're a healer and a mother! How did you fail at both?" A low blow. Laurie snarled.

"I am not whatever you want me to be. I am my own person and I protect my family however I see fit! You think you're so great, Sorcerer Supreme, and everyone will listen to you! Well, newsflash! I'm a person!"

"You don't even care about your family. All you care about is yourself. You want to have your cake and eat it. You want to be a pharmacist and a sorcerer, maybe a part-time mother. This is why I didn't marry you!" His own voice thundered in his ears and he regretted the words as soon as they were out. Shit. This was Christine all over again. And Laurie, like his ex, was not one to take a verbal beating lying down.

Hurt flashed in her eyes, then a poisonous rage. She stepped forward and he took a step back, making himself smaller.

"Good to know what you think of me. This is exactly why I left the last time. I don't wanna see you again. Ever." Her voice was even, with that level of rage that made her almost calm. "But Alex needs her father, so here's how this is gonna go. Whenever you wanna come over, you text me at least the day before so I can find someone to stay with her until you arrive. I don't give a shit if you don't know when you'll be free. Use the time stone for all I care. You and I will only text about Alex. I don't care if you're sorry because this? This taught me that you learned nothing." She spun around and opened a portal.

"Crap. Laurie!"

"Fuck off."

Those were her last words before the portal closed.

* * *

 

"You need a drink," big Alex told her some months later. Laurie rolled her eyes, watching her daughter run around the playground. Children were ridiculously resilient. She bounced back from the experience in pretty much 24 hours.

"Yeah, cuz a hangover is going to make me a better mother and more productive at work."

"There's an opening in our lab."

"Aww, I've always wanted to work in a lab," Laurie complained with a pout.

"So send a CV. I'll text you the mail."

"I just got promoted."

"Yeah, like a year ago. I'll check the salary and everything and send you a text. Sounds good?" Laurie nodded, squinting. Were the kids playing tag? "I know the answer rests, but did you two make up?"

"Why do you keep asking if you already know?"

"I keep remembering when you gave birth." Old Alex shrugged. "And he was there and all was good. The little one's birthday parties. What are you doing this year? You go out of your way to avoid him."

"Yeah, well... I'll suck it up. I said never, but once a year won't kill me."

"What did he say?" Alex asked. Laurie looked pained and she'd only told her friends that they'd argued and that was it. They knew better than to pry, but Alex was her closest friend.

"A rogue sorcerer attacked us. I called him and we fought together. Then he scolded me for not going to Alex's side, though he'd told me to. I got angry, he got angry and he said that was why he didn't marry me."

"He did NOT!" Alex gasped.

"Yep, he did. But that's his thing, see? He's this cool, calm, collected person, but when he snaps, he snaps hard." Laurie shrugged. "And I'm always wary of him doing something like that to Alex, but she's just a kid now. I doubt he would even raise his voice at her. When she's older, like a teenager, I'll have to be more careful."

"Doubt he'd hurt her though..." Alex said carefully. "She looks too much like him," she tried. Laurie chuckled, strained

"She does, doesn't she? God, I miss him." Laurie gulped, looking down. Alex hugged her for a few seconds.

"Does the good outweigh the bad?"

"Quantitatively, yes. Qualitatively, I'm not sure. When it's good, it's good. When it's bad, he aims for the heart. But he's her father, I can't tell him to fuck off." Alex lifted an eyebrow. "Fine, I did, but you know what I mean."

"I guess I do. Why did you call me here today?"

"To hold my hand while I text him?" Alex took her hand in hers. Laurie chuckled. "Maybe give me some ideas?"

"I think your telegraphic style fits well."

'Birthday party. Next week. Saturday, 3 pm. Dress normal.'

"Yeah, it has 'I'm still mad at you' written all over it," Alex commented.

'Will you be there?'

Laurie glared at her phone.

'What do you think? Of course I'll be there, it's at my place and I'm organising it.'

"There's an implied 'bitch' in there somewhere." Laurie chuckled.

'I apologise for the stupid question. Thank you for the invitation. I'll be attending.'

"That's it?"

"Yep." Laurie shrugged. "He's pretty good at, you know, respecting every rule I set. Makes it harder to stay mad."

"I guess that's where we differ. If he didn't portal into my bedroom to apologise on his knees, is there even any love?" Alex joked.

"This is why I tossed your ex into a portal." Laurie held up her phone. "Here you have an example of a man respecting boundaries."

"And it's your ex."

"I have decent taste in men."

"Thanks." Alex was the opposite. Laurie laughed.

A teddy bear began floating towards little Alex. Laurie's laughter died on her lips. Another child pulled on the teddy, but Alex seemed bent on getting it.

"Alex stop that!" Laurie chastised. The little girl looked at her with her lying face and shook her head. Laurie extended an arm and the teddy fell down. "Come on, we're going home." Her daughter started throwing the mother of all temper tantrums, but Laurie was unmoved. That part of parenting she knew. Give in once and you're doomed.

* * *

 

Wong was surprised, to say the least.

"She's 2."

"3 next week, but good try. And I know what I saw. Telekinesis. She's... her powers manifested early," Laurie explained, holding her now sleeping daughter. Big Alex was looking around the magical library.

"I wouldn't say I don't believe you..."

"But you don't believe me."

"Not really."

"Alright, fine. I hoped you knew something, had a book, or could help, at least a bit." Laurie deflated.

"I do have a book." Alex startled when a book from her right floated over. Wong opened it and showed Laurie the writing. "Children like this are volatile. Dangerous. Perhaps a seal would be better?" Laurie shook her head.

"These powers will grow with her. Sooner or later, when the seal would be removed, they would overwhelm her." The librarian nodded.

"I could try and teach her control... on a schedule agreed upon by both parents." His disapproving look was obvious. Laurie gulped. This was a big problem. She and Stephen should have been working together on it.

"O-of course..."

"You could tell him, Mr Librarian," Alex suggested. "I'm sure you see him more often than Laurie, anyway." The disapproval increased, although Wong nodded.

"I will see you tomorrow, then."

"I am available for any schedule," Laurie informed before she left.

* * *

 

As it was, Stephen was in another realm, fighting... Alex lost track of the explanation. Again, she'd come as the assigned babysitter while her friend discussed the toddler's magical education. Speaking of which...

"No, you can't have the book," the adult said. Little Alex ignored her, so the godmother slid the leather cover back in its place. "I said you can't have it."

"Why?"

"Because even I'm not allowed to touch things around here."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know anything about them."

"Why?"

"Because I never learned."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't need to."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?"

The little girl shrugged and extended her hand towards the book. It shook a bit, struggling to come out.

"Umm... GUYS!"

Wong appeared almost instantly. Both Alexes froze. But he'd seen the little one at work already. Laurie was next to him, a second slower.

"Do you believe me now?"

"Yes. Come on. We've got work to do." Laurie picked up her daughter.

"Can I go home? I think I've got enough excitement for today," the nonmagical woman asked.

Laurie nodded and made her a portal.

* * *

 

Stephen seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. He didn't call, didn't text asking for present suggestions, nothing. Now, Laurie was still sort of mad (maybe hurt) at him, but that didn't mean she magically stopped caring. On the contrary. Not seeing him made her worry more. However, she was stubborn so, on Friday, when she finally had a good excuse to text him, she did.

'Hey, you still alive? Coming tomorrow, right?'

He didn't answer until evening.

'Yes, I will be there. I apologize for ghosting. A mission proved to be longer than expected.'

Asking about his mission was on the tip of her tongue (fingers), but she held back. She'd set some limits. Time to follow them.

'It's fine. Just don't be late or Alex will be disappointed.'

Stephen stared at his phone, humming in thought. He was in bed. Despite the magical healing, he was still exhausted. He used to spend nights like those with Laurie, cuddling while she softly ran a hand through his hair. She used to be the one person around whom he could let his guard down, knowing she wouldn't hurt him, but protect and cherish his trust, accommodate his weakness. More often than not, he would fall asleep in her arms, warm and loved. She was a lot more accommodating than the healers at Kamar Taj, but also less busy. However, after she got pregnant, he avoided going to her when he was wounded, only for the cuddles. Wouldn't want to traumatize his daughter. (Even the Avengers only called Laurie when absolutely necessary.) Still, he missed those nights. He missed falling asleep in her arms. He missed her.

'I miss you.'

He deleted the text before he sent it and went to sleep.

* * *

 

The party came soon enough. Stephen made sure to be exactly on time. A few adults startled when he appeared via portal, but Alex immediately ran over to hug him. Laurie lingered in the kitchen, but acknowledged him with a nod and a fake smile. The children didn't notice, but the parents sure did. Laurie sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon.

Or not. Stephen was extremely popular with the children, so he mostly stayed with the group to entertain them with magic, while Laurie tended to the kitchen and the adults. If their meeting hadn't been so cold, nobody would suspect anything. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Time to blow the candles. Laurie came with the cake, singing Happy birthday. Stephen pulled Alex on his lap and the mother set her cake in front of them, still singing.

"Make a wish and blow," Laurie told her daughter. Alex blinked her big glasz eyes and looked between her parents a few times.

"I wish..."

"Not aloud," Stephen advised. "It's a secret."

"Oh, ok." After a few moments, Alex blew the candles. Laurie glanced at her ex, who could read minds as far as she knew. His smile was a bit fake. She made a mental note to ask about their daughter's wish later. Everyone was clapping. "Presents time!" Alex cheered. With an excited squeal, she mentally pulled on the pile of presents and one flew over, almost into the cake. Stephen and Laurie had both reached to stop it. Their eyes met, his questioning.

'Wong was supposed to tell you,' she thought, picking up the cake like nothing was wrong. The other parents looked uneasy.

"Let's move you to the presents, ok?" the father proposed as he moved Alex over. Everyone acted like there was nothing wrong. Soon enough, present opening was over, so everyone returned to the table for cake. Laurie was nowhere in sight.

Stephen left another parent in charge for the time being and went to look for his... ex. She was in the kitchen, washing some dishes.

"Since when have you been teaching her magic?" he asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Just because you're invited, it doesn't mean I'll talk to you," Laurie retorted.

"This is about Alex. It's..." He took a deep breath. Ok, stay calm. "How young were you when your powers first manifested?"

"Teenager. It could come from either of us, to be fair." She glanced at him. "Thanks for not assuming I did it on purpose." He shook his head.

"There's no way a 3 year old can be taught telekinesis." Laurie scoffed. Of course. Not like he trusted her or anything. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"Let's not do this now." She took a deep, faltering breath. This was still difficult for her. He lifted a hand, but returned it to his side, nodding. "Just stay after the party."

"Okay." He pushed off, going to mingle with the other parents.

* * *

 

Later, after Alex was asleep surrounded by her new gifts, the two adults faced each other in the living room, only a small table between them.

"Proceed," Laurie said with a shrug. "Just to be clear, if you're planning to propose, the door is over there and the sling ring is here." She showed him hers. Stephen nodded.

"I had thought about it, the first time I came over. Guess I know you well enough by now." He'd dismissed the plan almost instantly. "I just want to apologize and ask for a reprieve. Would you consider forgiving me or am I wasting your time?"

*Adrenaline from the fight. Many people have sex, kiss, you know? No, you argued.*

"Define forgiveness. I guess I can stop fleeing like a coward whenever you come by.We're adults, after all." He was hiding his hands, she noted as she ran a finger over her teacup. "But I'm not sure I want you back in my bed."

*You're not willing to put up with his shit, fine. But consider this: everyone has shit. Which one would you put up with?*

"I understand. Any odds of changing your mind? I still love you."

*If you take him back now, you set a precedent. Oh, it's the second time? Sounds like a pattern. Would you tolerate that? Or is it too unbearable?*

"Then why did you hurt me?" Her voice quivered. "Not once, but twice. Why?"

He stood up and turned towards the door, ready to leave.

"You're right. I'm sorry for bothering you."

Laurie swallowed her tears and gritted out

"This is your only chance of having this conversation. Answer me." She pulled herself up. Stephen stopped mid-step and turned around with a gulp. "Answer me. Once and for all. If you loved me, why did you hurt me?"

"I didn't mean..."

"Yes, you did. It was on point. It wasn't name calling or anything that first comes to mind when you're angry." He could've called her a bitch or a reckless idiot, but no. He'd said things that actually hurt and he'd known they would. She'd shared her insecurities with him and he used them against her. She gulped, forcing away her tears. "It was deliberate."

"It wasn't deliberate. I swear it wasn't deliberate."

"Then what was it?" She groaned in frustration when he stood silent. "Either stay and talk or leave. You got something tonight. I'll stop avoiding you."

"Give me a few minutes."

Laurie rolled her eyes and sat back down, drinking her tea. Stephen returned to his seat, covering his face with his hands, then running them through his hair. She watched him evenly and a disturbing numbness overcame her. Was she in so much pain she was numb? Or did she not care anymore? Nope, she cared, alright. So much that it made her crazy.

"You don't know," she finally said. His eyes met hers, scared. She chuckled bitterly. Of course. "I think we're done."

"I do that when I'm angry," he finally admitted. "I'm trying to control it, but it's not exactly something I can study and practice." She nodded, waving her hand to make him continue. "I was scared. Not just angry." She was still wearing his protective charm, he noticed.

"Yeah, I noticed." She nodded towards Alex' room, but didn't give any details. Like father, like daughter.

"It doesn't excuse my words."

"More importantly, it doesn't assure me that you won't do it again." She hesitated. Her next words were undoubtedly deliberate and would hurt him. "And not just to me." A look of horror crossed his face.

"I would never..." She interrupted him again.

"Would you?"

That shut him up. Laurie watched his face change while thoughts rushed, as if he was trying to figure out if he really would. This time, she didn't stop him when he fled.

Big Alex had been wrong the previous week. Now she needed a drink.

* * *

 

It was late when a portal opened in Stephen's room at Kamar Taj. Cloak didn't move, so he wasn't worried.

"Stephen?" Laurie.

"Did you leave Alex alone?"

"No, she's with her godmother who got kicked out of her house again. I promised not to beat her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend tonight, though, so she's sleeping over." He was still in his party clothes, sitting down next to the bed. "And I brought whiskey."

"Drinking together is a terrible idea."

"Why though? Can't make things much worse. I hate myself and you, you hate yourself and like me less than a few hours ago. Have at it." She uncapped the bottle, took a long swig as if to prove it wasn't poisoned, then passed it on to him. He didn't hesitate. "Sorry about adding self-deprecation to your list of problems, though," she said after a few more gulps.

"It's not a new addition." Laurie raised an eyebrow, but stood silent. "I thought I was better since coming to Kamar Taj. Less arrogant. Not so selfish."

"You weren't wrong. What you do is anything but selfish."

"Is it?" He shook his head. "Sorry, you're not here to talk about me."

"Don't be. You never talk, so I want to listen. You tell me about your nightmares, your missions, but you never talk about your feelings. Ever. So do it. If this helps, have it all." She put the bottle between his knees. Stephen hesitated, then drank again, just a sip, resisting the impulse to down the bottle. Still, he put it on her other side.

"Don't give me so much alcohol ever again."

"Why?"

"I had a drinking problem soon after my car crash." She took a last long gulp and moved the bottle away with her telekinesy. "I lost pretty much all my money while I was looking for a cure. Then my kiropractician told me about a man who had a very severe wound healed. I found him and he told me about this place." Laurie stood silent. She'd known, more or less, the story. It was a common one. "The Ancient One rejected me at first." Wait, what? "Then she used the time stone and accepted me. She tried to teach me humility, self-sacrifice, you know, these things that make people good."

"You are a good person, Stephen."

"Am I?" Sarcasm. "Perhaps if I were, you wouldn't have left me twice."

"That says something about me, too."

"You're not a danger to our daughter."

"Only when I had post-partum depression. And I lashed at you, too, yet you didn't decide to dump me."

"You called me a jiggle pansy, shiny nutcracker (I'm not going to let you live that down, by the way), then you complained about Alex crying." He sighed. "I called you indecisive and high-maintenance, then a horrible and selfish mother. All of those things you are afraid of being."

"We all have our demons."

"You'd think that facing their embodiment makes them easier to contain."

She chuckled, debating whether to show him a picture of Unimpressed Wong (their personal meme).

"Then tell me about them."

Stephen sighed.

"Why did you come?"

"Damage control? And you didn't tell me not to. Do you want me to leave?" He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear, intimately. Heat ran through her body. Ah, that was why alcohol was a bad idea. With a quick spell, it was dismissed from both their bodies. Stephen didn't move.

"I know, but it's not enough." He hummed in agreement. "Keep talking about your past." Stephen sighed and pulled away.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

He settled down again and began reluctantly.

"I swore an oath to do no harm, yet I killed many."

"To protect others," she quickly retorted.

"Did we swear the same oath?"

"More or less."

"It doesn't matter why. I sometimes think I haven't changed at all. Doing the right things for the wrong reasons."

"Yeah, saving everyone for the wrong reasons. No glory, no rewards. Just all the wrong reasons." She moved in front of him, knees on either side of his feet. "Stephen, look at me." She grabbed his cheeks with her hands, turning on the lamp on his nightstand. "You're not a bad person. You're a hero. You save people." He seemed more miserable than she'd ever seen him. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe that."

"You still love me," he said, amazed.

"Well, yeah, that's why it hurts." His hands reached for her face. "Keep talking. I wanna refute everything."

"I destroy relationships with my temper."

"Ok, not everything." He dropped his head to her chest, sighing. Laurie wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back. "I'm willing to stay your friend, though." His body tensed, making her tighten her hold. He was crying. "Aww, don't do that." She softly ran her hands through his hair, the way she knew always soothed him. Stephen indulged her comfort for a few minutes. Fuck, it was Christine all over again. Step by fucking step. He hadn't learned a thing, hadn't changed at all. Same selfish bastard who couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"I'm sorry." He pulled back and it distantly occurred to her that she'd never seen him cry. The pain on his face was foreign. And it made her very, very uncomfortable. "I love you." She sighed, pressing their foreheads together as her thumbs wiped his tears. Not enough, he knew. But he had to say it.

"I wish that was enough. And I wish I knew what to do now. We're running in circles, dragging our daughter with us this time." She wanted him, but she was afraid. But she wanted him. She couldn't just cut him out of her life. He was a good father. Quite likely a better parent than her. Her fear was irrational. An argumemt every few years? Pft. But his words stung, touched a chord inside her heart that radiated pain through her body. They stood in silence, until she got a new idea. A memory of someone who could help. "Hey, would you want to go to therapy?"

"What for? It's not the daily stuff that hurts. It's something that happens once every few years."

"I have a friend. She said it's a pattern. And patterns come from somewhere."

A pause while he pulled himself together. Then he pulled back.

"You want me to talk to your therapist friend?"

"Yeah. Or another therapist. But make it a good one."

"Okay."

Laurie blinked.

"Okay?"

He shrugged.

"I don't see why not."

She smiled.

"Great, I'll call her."

* * *

 

"What do you mean private?"

"Don't pretend you don't know what that means," the woman retorted with a deadpan. Laurie rolled her eyes.

"Okay. Fine. Good or bad? You can tell me that much."

The other woman hummed in thought, moving the straw in her cocktail in a triangular shape.

"Slow."

"Slow?"

"Yes." She smiled. "How are you coping? New job, kid's got magic, your relationship is one big question mark. Do I need to pencil you in?" Laurie flipped off her friend.

"New job is great. And I'm not alone in dealing with the rest."

"No, you're not. But maybe you can do a session together. Just let it out."

"Surprisingly, we did. We are hyperaware of the other's feelings. I just..." She paused.

"Just what?" Laurie didn't answer. "Do you intend to continue your relationship?"

"I wish I could."

"What's stopping you?"

"You'll figure out when you piss him off once."

"Surprisingly, I'm not dating him," the therapist said with sarcasm, "so I doubt I will be as affected as you." Fair enough.

"I... I'm afraid he'll hurt me again."

"So it's an issue of trust?"

"No, I trust him. I trust him to protect me. I trust him to be on time unless some real shit goes down. I trust him alone with our daughter. I trust him to look after me when I'm sick. Hell, he's not a bad person."

"Then what don't you trust him with?"

"My heart."

"That's abstract."

"I don't trust him not to hurt me again."

"You already said that." Laurie stood silent. "Why did his words hurt?"

"Because he was right." She expected to be asked more details, but her friend just sighed.

"Does he know that?" Laurie felt her throat clog up.

"No." She swallowed.

"But you told me you're aware of each other's feelings?"

Laurie took a deep breath, opened her wallet and put 50 dollars on the table. Her friend laughed.

"I'll think about it."

* * *

 

Stephen put Alex to sleep and went to the living room. Again, two cups of tea, facing each other.

"Should we write 'communication corner' on the table?" he asked with a nervous smirk. She'd texted him about it earlier that day.

"I got hurt because what you said was true." That wiped the smile off his face completely. He sat down. "It felt true, at least."

"Laurie..."

"Yeah, I said we were open, so I figured this was important."

"It wasn't true."

"Yes, it was. I have terrible maternal instincts."

"No, you were right. The wards were there and I could have gotten seriously hurt without you." He shifted, unsure what to do with his hands. "You're not selfish. It's not wrong to want a career." He settled for leaving them on his lap.

"We have a daughter..."

"And she will grow up with two superhero parents, learning magic herself."

"You still said you wouldn't marry me."

"Does a ring matter?" She nodded. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Well, I can't wear mine, so... I guess I was the selfish one."

That had never occurred to her.

"I reserve the right to say 'That's why we're not married' as a childish joke." He shrugged. "And I should have probably mentioned that I want it."

"When I really thought about it, you did. You talked about marriage like it was serious business, like it better count. So my bad, I guess. If it's not too late..."

"Door."

"Listen to me. If we can still salvage our relationship, I promise I won't make the same mistake. I'll make it as cheesy as you want."

"Recruit Alex."

"Big one?" Laurie nodded. "That's good to know. Can we still fix this?"

"I don't know. I can't make a decision..." He interrupted her.

"Yes, you can. Most of the big decisions about us were made by you."

"Only to be revisited. You make this one." Laurie waved at him.

"I love you. I almost died a few times lately and you were my biggest regret." He took her hands in his. "Give me one last chance to make this right." She looked at him, at their hands, at his eyes, nervous.

Ah, hell. It was about time she resigned herself to spending the rest of her life with him.

* * *

 

Bonus:

"You got married in Vegas and I wasn't invited? Rude," Alex pouted.

"We were literally engaged for 3 hours." Laurie showed her the ring.

"Oh, I saw the ring. Your magical boyfriend made it in front of me." Still, she took a look. "Yep, looks good, right size."

"It's an indestructible type of gold from another dimension."

"It does look a little too yellow." Alex smiled. "So how's married life treating you?"

"Nothing changed. I swear he could have just given me the ring and it would be the same thing." The two women laughed.

"What's his like?"

"Bracelet. A very strong protective charm we both worked at. It will heal him should he suffer lethal wounds and alert all the masters."

"What does yours do?"

"It summons a shield around me." They paused.

"Return it. Demand more love."

"I'm not the one fighting interdimensional demons," Laurie pointed out. "Besides, it's fine. We got Alex a little pendant to match. Shield too."

"That's good."

"Mum! I'm in trouble!" the girl announced, opening the entrance door. "Oh, hey, aunt Alex."

"Hello. What happened?"

"Well, I'm not getting bullied again, that's for sure."

Laurie lifted a hand to her forehead.

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes. Necklace works."

Old Alex was laughing.

"Anyone hurt?"

"Egos?" The girl seemed a bit too nonchalant. Laurie couldn't fault her. The whole morality discussion would fall to Stephen.

"Okay, fine. Lunch is on the counter."

"Also, one more thing. Wong taught me how to sense auras."

"Like a month ago, but whatever."

"Yeah, I only got it right today. And... not right, maybe? I think you're both pregnant."

Pause. Laurie looked at her friend, then her daughter.

"I could be. Guess this is how you find out you'll have a sibling. Go buy a pregnancy test."

"Right, a 10 year old buying a pregnancy test." The girl laughed.

"Make that two," her godmother asked.

"Fine, but only because I wanna see if I'm right." She took the money and left.

Laurie turned towards her friend.

"It's not that interesting for me. Honeymoon sex, let's try and see what happens, yada yada. What's your story? Who's the father?"

"Michael." Their mutual male friend. Laurie raised her arms in victory. Finally, a good man. Alex had the ridiculous talent of only dating abusers.

"Yes! Thank you, God! I've been shipping them forever!"

* * *

 

Bonus 2:

"Dad! Mom's pregnant!"

"Why are you the one telling me?"

"Because I was the first to know."

Stephen didn't question her further. Stranger things had happened in the Strange household.

* * *

 

Bonus 3 (engagement):

His hand guided hers to his face, pressing it close. Laurie smiled, cupping his cheek while she leaned in for a short kiss. Her smile never faltered, even when she pulled away, meeting his eyes. He wanted to keep that light of happiness on her face forever.

"Let's get married tonight."

Stephen froze for a moment. So soon? He'd proposed an hour ago and her surprised squeak had been unexpected. He'd literally organized the most sappy cliche date ever, with help from Alex, who had insisted that Laurie was secretly a hopeless romantic. Honestly, how she hadn't figured everything out by the time he was on his knees was a mystery.

"Tonight?" He repeated in disbelief. She nodded.

"I'll just magic on something nice and a bit of makeup. You can wear your sorcerer robes (haven't seen you in those in ages) and maybe Cloak too. We can go to Vegas through a portal..." She trailed off at his lack of response. "Unless you have a huge wedding planned."

"I... didn't think that far." The proposal was his main concern. He figured they could organize the wedding together. Or just show everyone the middle finger and get married on a whim. That worked, too. "I just want you to be happy."

"I just want to be married. I don't need a huge wedding with an uncomfortable dress and people taking up all our time together. I don't know when I'll get to have you for myself next and gathering everyone would be a huge pain."

"Tony will kill us," he joked.

"Do you want a big wedding?"

"No. If you're sure, let's do it."

"What about your ring?"

"I'll just whip up something and we'll figure it out later." Laurie nodded and stood up, heading to the mirror to try on various looks. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I love you. I don't care about the wedding itself, just get me the paper."

"Okay."

* * *

 

It wasn't as easy as they'd hoped, but they were married before midnight. They'd settled on getting Stephen a golden bracelet, which Laurie enchanted. He watched her adjust the jewellery in her hands. Her face was tense in concentration. Their eyes briefly met and she smiled warmly, then returned to her work.

They were back home, all alone. Their daughter was away on a school trip for a week. The house felt rather quiet.

Stephen went to get a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He opened the bottle with magic and poured, then returned to their bedroom. Laurie was still working, sitting cross-legged in bed.

"Leave it. I want you tonight," he urged her, sitting down. He left the bottle on his nightstand and offered her a glass.

"Just a moment. And... done."

She put the bracelet on the wrist extended towards her, then accepted the glass with a smile. Stephen scanned the jewelry with curiosity. He recognised some of the runes, but not all. There was one to keep it warm. He appreciated the forethought.

"It's a portable healer. As well as the ringtone spell you gave me," she explained. "Have the other masters add themselves to it so they'll hear your call."

"A portable healer?" She nodded.

"It recognizes lethal wounds and heals them." His wide smile warmed her heart. "I wanted you to have something for when I'm not there." She had studied the spell years ago, wanting to protect him even from afar, but she never knew what to enchant it on. Their wedding band was perfect. It was from the same material as her ring, both particularly receptive to enchantments and wards.

"Thank you." He picked up his own glass and lifted it, as if he was toasting. "To the future."

"To love."

They knocked glasses and drank. Laurie moved to lay closer to him, both leaning against the headboard of their bed. Her left hand slid over his left wrist, ring softly touching bracelet. Two parts of a set.

"Not what you imagined when you were little, is it?" he asked. She knew that tone.

"Not at all." Her fingers absently trailed over his hand. "I never saw myself getting married." She floated the bottle to refill her glass. "At all. I played with babies with other girls and others' weddings and what not, but I never really wanted to be the bride. So I guess you made me want to be a Mrs."

"Hmm... Mrs Strange. Laurie Strange doesn't sound so bad." He moved the arm around her to empty his glass.

"Not at all." Laurie floated their glasses to the table, then threw a leg over his, straddling his hips. A soft smile appeared on her face. They were married. Finally. It was unreal. Why did it feel so unreal? They'd been dating for a long time. Why did it suddenly feel permanent? Why did the label of "husband" make her see him in a new light?

"What are you thinking about?" He moved his hands to her waist.

"You." Stephen tilted his head to the side with an amused smirk. "Read my mind and find out."

"I am, but you're not making any sense." Laurie rolled her eyes. Of course he was. "What's so different now?"

"Well, the main point of my thoughts is that nothing and everything changed."

He hummed in thought, hands slipping to her thighs. In his view, Alex had been a bigger change. Now, marriage... it just felt new. They were the same. Just new labels.

"But, all things considered, I still haven't had sex with my husband at all. This marriage is so difficult." He chuckled at that.

"Patience, Mrs Strange. All good things come in time."

Her hands moved to his chest. Despite the joking, she hesitated. Maybe he was tired and not in the mood. It had been an eventful day. He nodded his consent. Did she remember how to take off his robes? She did, but she wanted to take her time. That was fine with him.

Too much later and still too many clothes on, it wasn't so fine.

"Is this how you wanna play?" he hissed, frustratingly hard as she kept playing his body like a fine tuned instrument. She knew his turn-ons by heart, had learned everything through the years.

"Why, you've been so nice to me today. Figured I can make this about you for once." Still, she tugged at his pants, magic undoing the strings and starting to ease them off. He lifted his hips to help, only to groan when she immediately took him in her mouth, before she magicked his pants off completely.

"I'm not young anymore, so if you're too nice, we might be delayed." Stephen shoved another pillow under his head to prop his head up and see her. He was in for a treat. Laurie licked him from base to tip, looking straight into his eyes.

"Magic," she replied before she circled his head with her tongue. He chuckled at that.

"I'm all yours, if so."

She winked, then pulled back, wet her lips, swallowed, and took him back into her mouth. This time, she did her best to relax her throat.

"Oh, God..." She'd never done that before.

She moaned, the vibrations making him groan, then slowly began moving, trying to accommodate his girth. He was thicker than she was used to.

"Used to?" he choked out.

Laurie didn't pull back to speak, she simply thought of the answer. Which was under the bed. Alex had advised her to practice.

That woman knew a bit too much, in his opinion, remembering her grin when he'd showed her the ring. She had assured him that Laurie would be very happy with it.

She moved one of his hands to her throat, letting him feel how it swelled up for him, then to her hair, which he gripped and carefully aided in her movement. Laurie briefly wondered if it was working for him.

"More than working," he replied without thinking.

She had a hand on his lower belly to brace herself, the other running over his thighs and balls. He slowed her down out of self-preservation. She pulled back a little to breathe, giving him a questioning glance. Laurie couldn't help her grin when she took a good look at her husband. He was flushed red, cock swollen up and leaking, panting heavily, right at the edge. She wanted him to cum just like that, with his dick down her throat and staring down at her, knowing that she brought him there.

"Go on, then," Stephen encouraged with a groan.

"You asked for it, darling." Her voice was rough from the abuse, but she didn't seem to mind.

It was easier the second time she deep-throated him. Probably would get even easier in time. She met his eyes and tried to focus on what she was feeling, his taste (familiar, amazing, home), how he felt inside her mouth, how she would do this for him whenever he asked from now on because having so much power over him was exhilarating, knowing that he was here and he was hers and...

She swallowed around him and that proved to be his breaking point. Stephen groaned, hips thrusting up uselessly while Laurie dragged the orgasm out of him, cum going straight down to her stomach. She only pulled back when she felt him go soft inside her mouth. He was still panting while she crawled up his body and guided his lips to hers with a hand.

His arms wrapped around her body. He was still on cloud nine, devouring every brush of lips, every caress, every sense. Laurie retreated to breathe, but Stephen pulled her back in, tongue invading her mouth. His hands grabbed her ass, squeezing. She moaned, smiling when her skirt vanished. One of his hands reached into her knickers and he mirrored her grin.

"I knew you were enjoying yourself, but this is really flattering." She chuckled.

"Well, what can I say? You're a treat."

He pressed a condom into her hand, but she wrapped her fingers around his, humming in thought. Stephen didn't need to read her mind to know what she was thinking, but it helped.

"Are you sure?" he asked. The earlier playful mood was dissipating. This was a serious conversation.

"No. But I'm not getting any younger. And it's already a big gap between kids, anyway. There's no guarantee that I'll get pregnant, either." She waited for his answer in apprehension. "Do you want another child?"

"Yes." He was wary, too, guarded, but he'd answered pretty quickly. Why hadn't he said anything before? "I have for years, but after what happened, I... I didn't want you to feel like I'm tying you down to me." Two children would be a huge financial strain. Despite everything, he was providing. They wouldn't starve with her salary, but it would imply a downgrade. Her thoughts were jumbled, so he waited for her to understand. "Especially since you were noncommittal about motherhood in the first place."

Laurie sighed. It was easy to forget about his feelings of insecurity, of "not quite enough", "not the right person". Therapy helped, but it wasn't a miracle. Probably why it took him 7 years to propose, even though it became clear after 2 that neither of them was going anywhere. Despite her thoughts, she focused on his last statement.

"I know. But now I know what I'm getting into and I want this. I love Alex. I love you. And I know we'll all love this baby."

The condom vanished and his fingers intertwined with hers.

"We will."

He pulled her into a kiss. Laurie mentally apologised for ruining the mood, but Stephen didn't seem to mind. Their touches started gentle, loving, reverent. It felt different, more important.

"Now. I want you now," she panted, pulling away. She slid lower to get a good look at his dick, then waved her hands a bit and grabbed him. Stephen groaned when he hardened instantly. The rush of blood was dizzying.

"Handy," he joked. She smiled. "Is this ok?"

"Yeah. Don't think I have the stamina anymore, but it's a good start." His hands slid to her hips.

"We'll figure something out." She slowly guided him inside her, savouring the slow stretch. "Yeah, if you start like that, I can see why you'll get tired." She moved her hips in a small circle, easing him in until they were lying flush together.

"There's a dildo under the bed if you piss me off."

"I like to think that I'm at least marginally better." He rotated his hips to make a point. She moaned. He'd been busy lately with whatever and she'd fucking missed him.

"Marginally." Laurie leaned forward, bracing herself on her arms, then started moving.

"You know what? When you're done riding me, I'll remind you."

She sped up, briefly tensing her inner muscles to make him groan.

"Why, Doctor, is that a threat?"

He grinned. This was a familiar exchange, but he could never have enough of it, of her.

"It's a promise."

A warm chuckle bubbled out of her chest. Her hips picked up speed while her hands fisted in the blanket, obviously straining. He was holding on to her, thrusting up in her rhythm. She couldn't cum like that and they both knew it. His hands moved up, to her waist.

"Lean back."

Laurie made a show of twisting her neck as her hair flew around, then leaned back as far as his hands guided her.

"That's it," he praised. "That's want I wanted to see." Her arched back, ribs visible and belly pulled in, boobs up and perky. He could never get enough of that perfect picture, eidetic memory be damned.

It was uncomfortable as hell for her, though. Laurie grunted lightly when she leaned back up, panting.

"Switch," she asked immediately.

"How?"

"Don't care. Just be easy on my back."

"Hmm... sit next to me."

She obeyed and he turned her on her side, propped her leg up and took her from behind. Laurie mentally complained about her back.

"Lean on me," he whispered in her ear, voice low and husky. She moaned. Despite her complaints, this was one of her favourite positions. His chest pressed to her back, arm around her body and face so close to her neck that she could feel his every breath. "That's it..."

Her free arm grabbed him aimlessly, perhaps his hip, maybe thigh and her body moulded along his. It was perfect and he wasn't even moving yet.

"Stephen..."

He nibbled at her neck, grinning at her reaction. It was easy to pleasure her if he knew what he was doing. He was tempted to roll her further, sneak his hand under her leg, but no. It was the head to toe skin to skin she craved. He was thrusting slowly, wanting it to last.

"This is how you're supposed to start," he said playfully. Her fingers curled into his flanks, nails digging in. His were gentler, twisting her nipples. "Slow, hard, but not that snail pace." Laurie moaned. "It just wears you out..."

"I know. But I can't help it. You're so, so big and you fill me up so well..." He groaned, face burried in her neck. "I just had to... even now, I want you to speed up, to fuck me hard, but I also want you to take me, slowly and gently, to kiss me until we both come together." She chuckled. He had picked up speed, movements bordering on frantic. "What do you want?"

"Kiss me."

She was going to need a new spine. No matter. She twisted her neck, guiding his lips to hers with her hand in his hair. It started quite chaste, all things considered. Then his tongue made home inside her mouth and she gave up on trying to focus on one thing. The lower half of her body was singing sonnets of joy, her mouth was in heaven, her chest was all good and cosy, so screw her old lady back. His breath came out in an amused huff, but he didn't acknowledge her thoughts any further, just dove back in. His hand drifted down her body to play with her clit. Show was approaching its end.

Laurie came with a loud yelp, muffled against her husband's mouth. She broke their kiss, trying desperately to catch her breath. He didn't seem to be done, though.

"Think you can give me another?" It was a question, but his voice made it feel like an order. Laurie nodded, still panting. His tongue traced her ear, slowing down a bit until she could breathe again. She whimpered when he kissed her neck, hips picking up speed again. "That's it," his voice rumbled against her throat, about as breathless as she felt. Her walls started tightening. "Good girl." She started moving, too, trapped between his hand and his body. It was why she loved this position. He was everywhere. Behind her, in front of her, his body wrapped around hers just like hers was around his. "Give it to me," Stephen growled. He was close, too, she could tell, stubbornly hanging on by a thread, his arrogance demanding that he didn't leave her hanging. He hadn't been her first, but he sure as hell wanted to be her best.

Laurie climaxed again with a shout, Stephen following close behind, biting her shoulder as he filled her up with his seed. Then he magicked the blanket over them and moved his arm to wrap around her waist.

Neither moved, catching their breaths. Eventually, Laurie found his hand and brought it to her lips for a kiss. It was shaking even more than usual. She held it between both of hers, sighing.

"You don't have to channel magic into your hands."

Stephen hummed, enjoying the feel of her massaging his sore limb. He'd only stabilised one hand, the other going rather unused, so he could ignore the pain.

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for myself." He nibbled on her neck. "You're magical when you squirm against me like that."

His shifting around had reminded her that they were still intimately connected. Laurie took extra care not to move. She wanted to fall asleep like that.

"Still... I don't want you to be in pain."

"It's nothing," Stephen muttered.

"Okay." Not convinced. She laid a kiss on his knuckles, then settled down. It had been a long day. "Love you." She thought she heard him mutter an answer, but they were both exhausted. A gentle sleep took over.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am quite attached to Laurie and their little family. I may or may not add more chapters if the mood strikes, because this will be my daddy!Stephen go to fanfic.

When Wong guided Stephen into their living room, Laurie was instantly by their side.  
  
"Are you hurt? Did the charm not work?"  
  
"I'm fine..." Stephen replied, physically shying away from her hands with a confused frown. Wong looked pained.  
  
"Can you heal minds?"  
  
The woman saw how distant her husband was, but attributed it to his wounds.  
  
"I'm sorry?"  
  
"You're our best healer," the sorcerer pointed out. He didn't understand why she didn't live at Kamar Taj, but whatever. "Can you heal minds?"  
  
"Doubt it. What happened?" Again, she instinctively sought her Stephen, but he'd moved behind Wong, who still had that apologetic grimace.  
  
"Stephen lost his memories. All his memories following the Ancient One's death. Fortunately, his knowledge of the mystic arts is intact, but..." Laurie's face contorted in horror.  
  
"How?"  
  
"There was an attack," Stephen explained. "I survived thanks to my protective charm, but it didn't save my memories." He showed her their wedding band, but didn't seem to know what it was. "As the best healer, I assume it was made by you?" She nodded, shocked into silence. "Then I must thank you. You have my eternal gratitude. If you could restore my memories, that would be an unpayable debt."  
  
"Sit down," she whispered, sitting next to him on the couch. She lifted a hand to his forehead, hoping there was something to heal, but no luck. She didn't even know where to start. Laurie lowered her hand and shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut.  
  
"It was a long shot, anyway," Stephen said with a sigh. He frowned at the woman's obvious distress. "Did we know each other? Were we close?"  
  
Laurie looked at Wong, helpless. Should she tell him? What good would it do? He didn't remember, anyway. It was empty information.  
  
The choice was taken away from her. The entrance door opened, Alex and Nathan entering casually. The 5-year old ran straight to the living room, screaming "Daddy!" in his excitement. Laurie quickly whispered to Stephen  
  
"Please, just play along."  
  
The man was flabbergasted. Eyes wide, he automatically accepted the child's hug and returned it, shooting the other two adults looks of confusion.  
  
Alex, at 16, wasn't as blissfully ignorant as her brother. She issued a greeting from the doorway and had her own questioning looks to offer.  
  
"Nathan, it's almost dinner time," Laurie deflected. "Go with your sister." The girl narrowed her eyes, obviously interested in whatever was happening, then nodded.  
  
"Let's go, baby."  
  
"I'm not a baby anymore!" the boy complained, yet he followed.  
  
"I'll look for answers in the library. There has to be a way to fix this," Wong offered before he opened a portal and left.  
  
That left Laurie alone with a very confused Stephen.  
  
"I assume the girl is my daughter?" he asked weakly. Laurie nodded.  
  
"Alex is 16, Nathan 5. They're both studying magic at Kamar Taj during the weekend. Please, for Nathan, just play along for now," she begged. "Alex is old enough to understand." Stephen nodded, looking just as disturbed as she felt.  
  
"Kindergarten?"  
  
"Yes. They were coming from a play date, the usual Friday schedule."  
  
Stephen ran a hand through his hair, breath shaky. Laurie gently touched his arm, unsure if the contact would be welcome. After all, she was a stranger to him. His eyes snapped open, scanning her warily. She dropped her hand, but he caught it in his, intertwining their fingers and staring at them. It felt familiar. It felt right. At the same time, it felt foreign. Stephen couldn't make sense of his feelings.  
  
"Courfew?"  
  
"After dinner, we start the bedtime schedule, but that's my part. You just help me if you want. If Alex asks, tell her we'll talk later." He nodded.  
  
Alex had already set the table for dinner and was heating up the food. Laurie took over while the rest of them waited. Nathan was talking animatedly about his day. His sister was obviously tuning him out, occasionally looking at her lap. Stephen didn't scold her. He had no idea how their usual evenings went. Instead, he was focused on his son, soaking up everything the boy was saying. It occured to him that this was why he wasn't sanctum master anymore, why his duties seemed so few. He had a family. For the first time, the loss of his memories hurt deeply. He couldn't remember his children's first steps, first words, first days of kindergarten. He had no idea who they were, what they liked. When did he first hold them in his arms? What sort of relationships did he have with them? He was a stranger at their table and the boy was looking at him like he held the sun in the palm of his hand.  
  
When everything was ready, Alex pocketed the phone and they all started eating. Soon enough, Alex was talking about her day.  
  
"I have a date tomorrow."  
  
"Does the boy know it's a date?" Laurie asked drily. Her daughter got way too excited about any outings with the opposite sex. Stephen smirked.  
  
"Yes, mom, he called it that."  
  
"So where are you going?" Stephen inquired. It seemed like an obvious question.  
  
"Movie. Some horror thing. Bet he hopes I'll get scared and jump into his arms, but joke's on him. I'm not easy to scare," she boasted.  
  
"Playing along might work in your favour, dear," her mother advised. "The male ego is a fragile thing." Stephen scoffed. This was almost too easy, just following a conversation about teenager life and bantering with Laurie. "What? Am I wrong?" the woman challenged.  
  
"You wound me," he replied. "My ego is fine, but yeah, teenagers are like that. How much do you like him?"  
  
"Hmm... 78.32%?" Alex shrugged. Stephen stared at her.  
  
"That's a very precise number."  
  
"You always ask me that before a date, so I figured I might have a creative answer this time." So he hadn't changed in 20 years. Good to know.  
  
"So if you like him, play along. If not, don't."  
  
"What game is that, dad?" Nathan asked. Stephen fiddled, uncomfortable.  
  
"It's a grownups game. You'll learn when you're older," he tried to deflect.  
  
"Like a prince and a princess game?"  
  
"Yes." Nathan was very close to the truth. Smart kid.  
  
"But Alex is not a princess!"  
  
"All girls are princesses," Stephen explained, glancing at Laurie. She was smiling. Good.  
  
"Oh. Even Linda?"  
  
"Yes," Laurie replied.  
  
"What about you, mum?"  
  
"She's obviously a queen," Alex retorted, rolling her eyes.  
  
"So dad's a king?" Where was the boy heading with all these questions?  
  
"Pretty much."  
  
"Where's our kingdom?"  
  
"It's..." Laurie hesitated.  
  
"I guess you can say it's Kamar Taj," Stephen tried.  
  
"Oh..." Nathan was thinking. "So that boy wants half the kingdom from Alex?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh... don't let him take it."  
  
The others laughed.

* * *

The rest of the dinner went by uneventfully. Laurie cast a spell for washing the dishes, then went to put Nathan to bed. Stephen hung around the living room, trying to make sense of all this. He had a family. 2 children and a loving wife.  
  
"Is either of you going to tell me what's going on?" Alex asked from the doorway. Stephen hesitated. The girl seemed intelligent from what he could see and she'd probably been studying magic for years. Maybe she could help? Then he remembered Laurie's request.  
  
"Later."  
  
"Meaning?"  
  
"Later means later," he deflected. "Just wait for your mother to join us."  
  
"Tch, fine."  
  
She came next to him on the sofa and sprawled herself on it, legs over his lap to rest her feet on the pillow on his other side. Stephen tried to be subtle as he took in the details of her face. Her eyes were the same colour as his, which was why he'd immediately identified her as his daughter, but there were other similarities, too. There was a hint of his sharp cheekbones, softened from her mother's side. Her black hair was all over the place, unbraided and long. She was wearing an old T-shirt, too tight around her still developing chest and a pair of too short sweatpants. Recent growth spurt. Her socks had little birds on them. She was casual, familiar. He wondered if they were close, if he spoiled her, if she sought him more than her mother. Her attention was diverted to her phone.  
  
"You're still wearing your work clothes," she noticed. He was. Did he usually change? Very likely. He used magic to change into a similar attire.  
  
"They're comfy. I forgot."  
  
"And Wong was here earlier." Not subtle.  
  
"I said later," he insisted, mildly irritated.  
  
"And you looked shocked when we walked in."  
  
"Alex." His voice hardened, but she met his eyes, unrepentant. Did he have no authority in this family?  
  
"And you kept looking at mom during dinner and you were uncomfortable with just us."  
  
"Yes, he forgot we exist," Laurie explained from the doorway. She closed the door after herself. "Nathan's sleeping."  
  
Alex frowned, staring at her father while she pulled her legs to her chest, body language closing. Like he was a stranger.  
  
"Everything?"  
  
"I don't even remember meeting or dating your mother," he explained.  
  
Earlier, seeing Laurie's distress had been uncomfortable, bordering on painful. However, Alex's betrayed look was like a direct stab through the heart, followed by the knife twisting around for good measure. Stephen frowned, trying to concentrate through the sea of protective instincts banging pots together in his head. Even without any evidence, he knew he would obliterate anyone who hurt his daughter. Distantly, it nagged at him that he had had to protect her in the past and would do so again. How dare he cause her pain now, albeit unwittingly?  
  
"It's... strange. I don't remember, but, somehow, I do. I care. You feel familiar. The dinner felt right. But I can't remember anything about either of you." Talking to them felt right, like he'd done so hundreds of times before. "I feel robbed of these memories."  
  
"Is it just us?" the girl pressed.  
  
"No, I don't remember anything. I didn't even know I wasn't sanctum master anymore."  
  
"Daddy?" She sounded so small, so unsure... He gave her his full attention. She was scared. The girl was devastated. Her eyes searched his face for something, he couldn't tell what, but he knew she didn't find it.  
  
"I will do my best to regain these memories," he promised. Not quite what she wanted to hear, but the teen pulled herself together, nodding.  
  
"I... I'll go see if Wong needs help."  
  
Alex left the room. Laurie followed.  
  
Stephen sighed and pulled himself up to look around the room, precisely at the pictures on the shelves. The first one showed a younger Laurie, with a toddler in her arms. Alex. There was another with all 3 of them in the snow. An unknown woman with his family in another. The most recent one was at the hospital. Probably when Nathan was born. Laurie was in bed, holding a baby, with Stephen and a much younger Alex on either side. They looked happy. Was this his life? Did he deserve something like this as a sorcerer, when he couldn't find it as a doctor?  
  
"I shouldn't have come here," he whispered.  
  
"No, I'd rather know than worry," Laurie replied. He hadn't felt her come back. Was he that familiar with her? "Alex went to Kamar Taj to help Wong."  
  
"I should go, too." She shook her head.  
  
"You need to rest. You almost died. Wong thinks it's because you did die, but my charm brought you back." The woman sighed. "Bad comes to worse, I'll just tell you everything you need to know and we'll move on... unless you decide you don't want any part in this?" she added, unsure.  
  
The mere option of acting like they didn't exist offended him to his core.  
  
"No, I... I can't not be here," Stephen struggled to explain. "This feels right. It feels... home. But I want these memories back. I need to..." He faltered in his steps, fatigue catching up. Laurie was by his side in an instant. "I'm fine." She nodded, retreating, but, again, he pulled her close, into a tight hug. Her presence was comforting and it made him lower his guard in a way he thought he never would. This woman was his equal, not a damsel in distress, but someone he could rely on in times of need. Her arms came around his waist. She seemed to deflate, accepting his touch. They stayed like that for several minutes. Laurie was resting her head against his shoulder, squeezing. Stephen was just holding her close, trying to pull himself together. What if he couldn't remember? What then? Could he really just move on like a robot, playing his part in the family? "I'm scared," he whispered, expecting the words to rake his throat on their way out. They didn't. Instead, the admission took a bit of the strain off his back.  
  
"It's alright. We'll get through this."  
  
He briefly pulled away to look into her eyes. We. She'd said 'we'. His daughter was helping Wong look for a solution. He wasn't alone.  
  
"What did I do to deserve you? I must have been a saint."  
  
A smile broke out on her face and his heart fluttered in joy knowing that he'd put it there.  
  
"I don't know, honestly. Our sins match."  
  
Stephen chuckled, still taking in this woman. Like with their children, he couldn't stop staring at her face. He wanted to remember it, remember her, everything. He cupped her cheeks and the way her hands instinctively reached up to steady his fascinated him.  
  
Something caught the light, bumping into his fingers. A ring. Air froze in his lungs. Married. His eyes drifted to the bracelet on his matching hand. It was his wedding band. His wedding band had saved his life. Laurie tilted her head to the side in a question.  
  
"Married." It came out breathless. She nodded.  
  
Stephen pulled her hand closer to look at the ring. Laurie kept it steady, despite his shaking more than ever. Married. They were married. But why wouldn't they be, with 2 children?  
  
"Nathan was conceived on our wedding night," he whispered. Laurie's eyes widened. "Alex was... Alex only found out a week later. We were married and engaged on the same day." He was hyperventilating. He needed to stop and calm down, but he wanted to remember, damn it! "We argued, badly, when Alex was 3. Her birthday wish was for us to make up and we did, that night. We only resumed dating 6 months later." His heart was beating wildly. Why did he suddenly know these things?  
  
"Stephen, breathe." It was Laurie's turn to cup his cheeks. He tried to focus on her. What was happening to him? "That's it."  
  
"Why didn't you find someone else?" he asked when he had some semblance of control over himself.  
  
"Why would I? The kids adore you."  
  
"Before that."  
  
"Because I fell in love with you." She had said it in a matter of fact tone, like it was obvious. He supposed it really was that simple. "What did you remember?"  
  
"Flashes. We got married in Vegas." His tone was deadpan and judging, as if he was saying 'Vegas, really?'. "It was your idea. We got married because you wanted it. I fucked up when I assumed you didn't. I remember two bad arguments. The first one ended with you leaving Kamar Taj. The second one ended with me seeking therapy." Which he still went to, occasionally.  
  
"What triggered it?" Laurie pressed hopefully.  
  
"I think it was the ring." She immediately took it off and offered it to him. Stephen stared at it, but, apart from a few wedding-related preparations, nothing came up. He returned it to her with a disappointed sigh and rubbed his head, frowning. Migraine or headache? A painful twitch answered. Migraine. "I think I'll let my body sleep and go to Kamar Taj to help. No point in tiring Alex out when my astral projection can do it just fine."  
  
"Bold of you to assume that our daughter can't astral project."  
  
There was a proud smirk on his face. The memories, while faint, had brought hope and some closure. He remembered something. At least it was a start.  
  
"Then I'll join her."  
  
Stephen had another dizziness spell when he tried to head towards what he sincerely hoped was the bedroom, so Laurie helped him stumble to it, dumping him in bed. His head still hurt like hell. Wait a minute, he had Kamar Taj's best healer on hand. She was brushing her teeth in the small bathroom next to their room.  
  
"Darling?" They both winced at the pet name and fake sweet voice. Not their norm, huh?  
  
"Yes dear?"  
  
"Can you cure my migraine?"  
  
"When I get in bed."  
  
They were going to share the bed? Obviously, he mused. He'd remembered a bit of their relationship, so there was less awkwardness than earlier. They were both more relaxed, too. There was hope.  
  
Laurie soon returned in her pyjamas and sat down next to him, then rubbed his head a bit. The migraine dissipated, making him moan as static spread over his scalp. Stephen forced himself not to make a big deal out of it. Instead, he focused on Laurie's familiar smug face. She'd just brushed her hair and removed her makeup. The domesticity was endearing, so the surge of affection shouldn't have surprised him. Still, he stared at her lips, unsure. This was hard on her, too. Maybe it would only hurt her.  
  
"You're welcome," she teased when he didn't say anything.  
  
"Can I kiss you?" Better ask. Her eyes widened.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"There's nothing I want more right now."  
  
A startled laugh bubbled out of her mouth, but she nodded, smiling shyly. Stephen pushed himself up on an elbow and guided her lips to his. His mind exploded with millions of other, similar moments in time. He remembered Alex and Nathan being born, how he'd held her while she was labouring. His lips parted, tongue begging entry. Their first kiss. Their first time having sex. She pushed him down. Conceiving Nathan. Having sex while pregnant. His arms slid around her, pulling her body on top of his. He could recall clothes being ripped off, or magically vanishing, or...  
  
They broke apart, panting. That had been more than a kiss.  
  
"Laurie..." Her maiden name was Backus. He had no idea why it mattered, but he'd take any restored information, no matter how seemingly irrelevant.  
  
"I don't wanna stop," she admitted. She could tell that he was turned on, but she still felt like she had to ask.  
  
"Me neither." He rolled her under him and pressed his hips down, making her moan. "So let's not."  
  
"Sounds like a plan, Doctor Strange." He wasn't prepared to get so hard from one sentence, but here he was. His mind was still struggling, but his body knew her. "Any prescription?" The answer was there, in his head.  
  
"Nothing a pharmacist can't handle, I'm sure."  
  
He smothered her laughter with his lips, intent on relearning her body. Her hands knew right where to go, where to scratch, pull, tease, it was unfair. He had to struggle to remember, as though from a dream, but he didn't let that deter him.  
  
And then memories flew in. Missionary. Doggy. Sideways, her favourite. Against the wall, his favourite. Silent with the kids next room. Loud, unashamed. In the bathroom. In the kitchen. Rough, biting. Soft, loving.  
  
He didn't remember putting on a condom, but, somehow, he finished in it, groaning against her neck. Laurie unwrapped her legs from around him and let him roll off, panting. Her eyes were on him while he cleaned up with magic and he had to appreciate how vulnerable she was letting herself be in that moment.  
  
"I love you," Laurie whispered, nervous. It had slipped out. Too soon. But Stephen surprised her. His hand found hers in bed and intertwined their fingers.  
  
"I love you too."  
  
She laughed with tears in her eyes and rolled into his arms.

* * *

"There are several key items which will trigger your memory," Alex explained later that night. She was cold and distant, for self preservation. "Emotions are key. Your mind will try to align your memories with your feelings. A good way to speed things up would be to put you in contact with as many familiar things as possible." The girl sighed, leaving the book open. Stephen looked over it, but it seemed right.  
  
"I'm starting to remember," he told her. "Bit by bit. Mostly about your mother, but I'll try to spend time with you and Nathan this weekend to get as many things as possible back."  
  
"Ok. I'm going to bed. Wong said there isn't much point in searching for more." The girl was exhausted mentally and distant, worn out. He couldn't let her go like that.  
  
"26 August." Alex froze. "That's your birthday. Nathan's is 15 April."  
  
"Daddy?" She was asking for a hug when she called him that. He opened his arms with a sad smile and floated over to her. She squeezed him tight. "Don't scare me like this ever again!"  
  
He just kissed her forehead and squeezed back.

* * *

"You can't be serious," Stephen deadpanned.  
  
"What's wrong with my clothes?" Alex whined.  
  
"Nothing. It's your hair. You're going out like that? Come on." He frowned. "Please don't tell me I ever let you go out with a bird's nest on your head."  
  
His memories were returning faster and faster, but Wong said that there would always be missing parts. So far, most blanks were filled as far as important things went.  
  
"It's a new idea I wanted to try."  
  
"Ok, you tried. It's not working."  
  
"Stop throwing shade at our daughter," Laurie complained, bumping his hip. He playfully swatted at her. Then her eyes landed on Alex. "That looks ridiculous. He's right."  
  
"Ugh, shoo, you two!"  
  
"If I were your date, I'd take pictures for blackmail," Laurie teased. Stephen rolled his eyes.  
  
"I would just run. No movie."  
  
"Ok, ok! I'm changing it!" The teenager moved her hands with the familiar magical energy around her fingers, then threw it at her head. Her hair fell out of its mess, flowing naturally down her shoulders. "There. Happy?"  
  
"Very."  
  
"Thank you for not bringing disgrace upon this family."  
  
With a huff, Alex snatched her purse, magicked her shoes on, and stormed out.  
  
"I'll be back before the end of the world."  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Have a nice date."  
  
"Bye, sissy!"  
  
Stephen gave Laurie a questioning look. She shrugged.  
  
"I've been trying to make him stop, but she hates it." Which was the best reward ever for the boy. Stephen chuckled and kissed her forehead. He'd spent the entire morning with Alex, helping with her homework, then, after lunch, giving an opinion on her appearance for the date. All of which wasn't typical behaviour on his part, apparently. Now, he wanted to spend time with Nathan.

* * *

The boy had a new fascination with puzzles, so he owned a lot of them. Tony's daughter was less interested. She was two years older.  
  
Yes, they had a play date at Stark's house. Stephen had forgotten about his friendship with the Avengers.  
  
"Amnesia? Sounds tough. Anything I can help with?"  
  
"Not really. Apparently, objects with emotional load help, as well as familiar situations."  
  
The billionaire's face fell flat.  
  
"Most of our early bonding came over the world ending."  
  
"I can probably live without those particular memories," Stephen replied with a deadpan. Tony refilled his glass. "Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome, Magic Mike."  
  
He'd said the same thing at the baby shower. Stephen tried to cling to the memory.  
  
"You got us unlimited diapers for both babies?"  
  
Tony startled, but nodded. He understood what was happening.  
  
"What else?" he coaxed.  
  
"You encouraged me to propose to Laurie at Morgan's first birthday party."  
  
Tony grinned.  
  
"Wow, doc, is it that easy to refresh your memory?"  
  
Stephen was rubbing his head. Another migraine.  
  
"You could say that." He sighed. "Nothing about this is easy, though, especially on my family."  
  
Tony nodded, squeezing his shoulder.  
  
"You'll get through this." The sorcerer smiled. "Now, I hate having to remind you of this, but you owe me no less than 5 favours."  
  
"3."  
  
The engineer laughed.  
  
"That's what you choose to remember?"  
  
"You should be ashamed of yourself. Taking advantage of the situation," Stephen chastised. Tony rolled his eyes.  
  
"Well, Gandalf, I helped. You still owe me."  
  
"Invent something to store and refresh my memory and I'll make it 5."  
  
"Challenge accepted." Tony looked smug. Stephen wanted to fix that.  
  
"What'd you get Pepper for your wedding anniversary?" The engineer's eyes widened, grin cracking. "Here." Laurie had given him a gift for Pepper, knowing that Tony would forget.  
  
"Are you sure you're not pulling my leg with the amnesia business?"  
  
"Laurie reminded me." Stephen grinned. "2."  
  
"Fine." Tony accepted the gift and scanned the package. "What's in this?"  
  
"I don't know," the sorcerer said honestly. "Laurie said that Pepper wanted it."  
  
"Ok. 2. 4 if I make you an instant diary."

* * *

3 days later, Tony introduced Stephen to a modified BARF, in which he put his memories for safekeeping.


End file.
